lol don't want them durn hippy organic places goin outtin control ehhh willllbur ?!?!

[biz.yahoo.com]

Whole Foods, Wild Oats to challenge FTC lawsuit
Tuesday June 5, 3:00 pm ET
By Jessica Wohl


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Whole Foods Market Inc. (NasdaqGS:WFMI - News) and Wild Oats Markets Inc. (NasdaqGM:OATS - News) said on Tuesday that they would challenge U.S. anti-competition regulators that plan to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking the supermarket chains' proposed merger.
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Whole Foods, the largest natural and organic grocer, announced plans to buy Wild Oats in February, after coming under increased pressure from mainstream grocers that were selling more organic, natural and prepared fare.

In May, Whole Foods said that staff members of the Federal Trade Commission had voiced concerns over the anti-competitive impact of the planned acquisition.

Now, the FTC is seeking a temporary restraining order pending a federal district court ruling on its request for a preliminary injunction, the companies said on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the FTC declined to comment.

Whole Foods and Wild Oats are the leading players in the organic niche of the food retail industry in the United States, but their total food sales pale in comparison to larger retailers such as leaders Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - News) and Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - News).

"The FTC has failed to recognize the robust competition in the supermarket industry, which has grown more intense," Whole Foods Chairman and Chief Executive John Mackey said in a statement.

Whole Foods said that the FTC's challenge is based on its contention that the relevant market is limited to natural and organic food stores, excluding other supermarkets. But mainstream grocers have been encroaching on Whole Foods over the past few years, putting pressure on its rapid growth.

Both companies' shares fell in Tuesday afternoon Nasdaq trade. Shares of Austin-based Whole Foods were last down $1.32, or 3.2 percent, at $40.37, after falling as low as $40.25. Shares of Boulder, Colorado-based Wild Oats were down 26 cents at $16.65 after sliding to $16.00.

On May 22, Whole Foods extended its tender offer for Wild Oats for a third time, even though enough shares have been tendered, as it waited to hear whether U.S. regulators would challenge the deal.

In February, Whole Foods said it planned to buy smaller rival Wild Oats for $18.50 a share, or about $565 million, to compete better with other grocers selling organic and natural fare. The deal was originally expected to close in April.

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2007 10:06PM by Jgunn.

I work at Wild Oats, and they kind of treat all of us employees poorly. We've been waiting months for the merger to go through (I'm at $7.25/hour, the Whole Foods starting pay is $10.00. Maybe I wouldn't be struggling with the cost of school all the darn time.)
Why does it seem silly for Wal Mart to be complaining about a monopoly? hmmm.

well im guessing some very high up people own stock in walmart so *cough* hence the complaining

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Foods [www.nytimes.com]
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By MELANIE WARNER
Published: May 12, 2006
Starting this summer, there will be a lot more organic food on supermarket shelves, and it should cost a lot less.

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Misty Keasler for The New York Times
Michelle Philips and her daughter Madison at a Wal-Mart in Plano, Tex. Wal-Mart has decided that organic food will help modernize its image.

Related
Wal-Mart Tries to Enlist Image Help
(May 12, 2006)

Misty Keasler for The New York Times
Wal-Mart has asked suppliers to help it offer more organic food.
Most of the nation's major food producers are hard at work developing organic versions of their best-selling products, like Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Kraft's macaroni and cheese.

Why the sudden activity? In large part because Wal-Mart wants to sell more organic food — and because of its size and power, Wal-Mart usually gets what it wants.

As the nation's largest grocery retailer, Wal-Mart has decided that offering more organic food will help modernize its image and broaden its appeal to urban and other upscale consumers. It has asked its large suppliers to help.

Wal-Mart's interest is expected to change organic food production in substantial ways.

Some organic food advocates applaud the development, saying Wal-Mart's efforts will help expand the amount of land that is farmed organically and the quantities of organic food available to the public.

But others say the initiative will ultimately hurt organic farmers, will lower standards for the production of organic food and will undercut the environmental benefits of organic farming. And some nutritionists question the health benefits of the new organic products. "It's better for the planet, but not from a nutritional standpoint," said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. "It's a ploy to be able to charge more for junk food."

Shoppers who have been buying organic food in steadily greater quantities consider it healthier and better for the environment. Organic food — whether produce, meat or grain — must be grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and antibiotics. Then, before it is sold, the food cannot be treated with artificial preservatives, flavors or colors, among other things.

When Wal-Mart sells organic food on a much broader scale, it will have to meet the same Agriculture Department requirements. But nutritionists say the health benefits of many of these new offerings are negligible.

Wal-Mart says it wants to democratize organic food, making products affordable for those who are reluctant to pay premiums of 20 percent to 30 percent. At a recent conference, its chief marketing officer, John Fleming, said the company intended to sell organic products for just 10 percent more than their conventional equivalents.

Food industry analysts say that with its 2,000 supercenters and lower prices, Wal-Mart could soon be the nation's largest seller of organic products, surpassing Whole Foods. Already, it is the biggest seller of organic milk.

While organic food is still just 2.4 percent of the overall food industry, it has been growing at least 15 percent a year for the last 10 years. Currently valued at $14 billion, the organic food business is expected to increase to $23 billion over the next three years, though that figure could rise further with Wal-Mart's push.

Harvey Hartman, president of the Hartman Group, a consulting firm in Seattle that is working with Wal-Mart on its organic food initiatives, asserted: "What Wal-Mart has done is legitimized the market. All these companies who thought organics was a niche product now realize that it has an opportunity to become a big business."

Kellogg and Kraft say they began working on organic Rice Krispies and organic macaroni and cheese before having conversations with Wal-Mart. But David Mackay, chief operating officer at Kellogg, says it was helpful knowing that a big customer like Wal-Mart was enthusiastic about the product.

In July, Kellogg is planning to introduce organic Raisin Bran and organic Frosted Mini Wheats, with packages featuring the word 'organic' at the top in giant letters.

Other food companies say they are working on products at Wal-Mart's direction. General Mills and Pepsi say they plan to introduce new organic versions of some of their well-known brands late in 2006. These products are expected to appear in Wal-Mart first and then at other major retailers.

Officials at General Mills, the producer of Cheerios, Yoplait yogurt and Green Giant vegetables, among other things, and at PepsiCo, which owns the Tropicana and Quaker brands, declined to identify those products.

DeDe Priest, senior vice president for dry groceries at Wal-Mart, said the company had been urging food suppliers for the last year to embrace organic foods. At a recent conference in Rogers, Ark., near the company's headquarters in Bentonville, she said, "Once we let the companies know we were serious about this and that they needed to take it seriously, they moved pretty fast."

Bruce Peterson, head of perishable food at Wal-Mart, said that it aimed to change the way people think about the retailer.

"Consumers that gravitate to organic products don't always think of Wal-Mart as a top-of-mind destination to pick up those products," Mr. Peterson said. "We want to let customers know, 'Hey, we're in that business.' "

The strategy of working with food makers to tie in organic products with well-known brands represents a departure from the approach many of Wal-Mart's competitors are taking. Safeway, Kroger and SuperValu, which is set to acquire Albertsons, have private label organic lines with names like Nature's Best and O that they sell at prices below those of brand organic products.

Mr. Peterson said he thought that Wal-Mart's method would be more effective in appealing to customers because it relies on powerful brand names that have million of dollars in advertising backing them up.

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Misty Keasler for The New York Times
Food industry analysts say Wal-Mart, with its 2,000 supercenters, could soon become the nation's largest seller of organic products.

Related
Wal-Mart Tries to Enlist Image Help
(May 12, 2006)

The New York Times
But Wal-Mart's new push worries Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, an advocacy group that lobbies for strict standards and the preservation of small organic farms. He said Wal-Mart did not care about the principles behind organic agriculture and would ultimately drive down prices and squeeze organic farmers.

"This model of one size fits all and lowest prices possible doesn't work in organic," Mr. Cummins said. "Their business model is going to wreck organic the way it's wrecking retail stores, driving out all competitors."

Part of the problem, Mr. Cummins said, is that Wal-Mart is making a push into organics at a time there is already heavy demand and not enough supply.

"They're going to end up outsourcing from overseas and places like China," he said, " where you've got very dubious organic standards and labor conditions that are contrary to what any organic consumer would consider equitable."

Currently, some 10 percent of the organic food consumed in the United States is imported, according to the Agriculture Department. Kelly Strzelecki, an agricultural economist there, said she expected that share to increase.

Mr. Peterson, the Wal-Mart executive, says Wal-Mart is not now getting any of its organic products from overseas, but cannot predict if that will change. And he says Wal-Mart does not pay organic farmers less than others do, in part because the demand is so high. He said the lower prices offered to consumers were made possible by Wal-Mart's enormous volume and by having efficient distribution and inventory systems.

Some organic food advocates also fear that large-scale organic farming will not use the crop-rotation practices of the small farms, hurting the fields and reducing the health benefits of organic food.

Mr. Peterson's view of organic agriculture is markedly different from many of those involved in the field.

"Organic agriculture is just another method of agriculture — not better, not worse," he said. "This is like any other merchandising scheme we have, which is providing customers what they want. For those customers looking for an organic alternative in things like Rice Krispies, we now have an alternative for them."

Organic agriculture arose in the 1970's as a reaction to large-scale farms that confined animals and the increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers on crops. Many advocates of organic produce consider conventional agriculture to be harmful to the environment and to human health.

But Wal-Mart and some large food manufacturers are careful not to position their organic versions as superior to the original. "We have no intent to send a message that the standard Rice Krispies are somehow not great brands," Mr. Mackay of Kellogg said.

Organic Rice Krispies are made with cane juice instead of high-fructose corn syrup and without the artificial preservative BHT.

Mr. Hartman, the Seattle consultant, said organic now means different things to different people. "It's a multifaceted symbol representing everything from quality to health to ideology, and everything in between," he said. "It's something that lets people feel even better about their choices."

With processed products like organic Rice Krispies and organic macaroni and cheese soon to appear on store shelves, the organic movement seems to be fitting itself more into the wide variety of food available to Americans.

"People want you to offer them organic and natural," said David Driscoll, a food analyst at Citigroup. "But sometimes, they just want to eat a Pop-Tart."

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

So if Whole Foods bought Wild Oats, organics would dominate the market and be at lower prices? I'm definitely for it!

The food wouldn't be organic for long: in Canada a food can be labelled organic for the slightest nod to lower toxicity.
Certified Organic is different - consumers have to know or understand about the certifying body. A product won't be better than its certifying body. I think most of themin BC are good. But any group of peers, or anyone I guess,could start up a certifying body and start approving of each others' products - though hopefully the COABC wouldn't allow them in.
Scamming abounds: I won't detail what I know because both of the products I heard about were non-vegan.

I assume though, that there are similar problems with vegan produce.


Companies like Wal-Mart work tirelessly to tweak laws, bribe, cover-up, polish, forget, ignore, etc......I won't even post the nouns and adjectives I'm thinking of to describe them - wouldn't be proper.

I predict an increase in popularity of farmers markets.

When people realize that the organic produce at walmart is stale and unflavorful, and wholefoods continues to be known as "whole paycheck", people will gravitate to the real thing - fresh raw locally grown food direct from the farm.

jono Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "whole paycheck",

lol Whole Paycheck LOL

> people will gravitate to the real thing - fresh raw
> locally grown food direct from the farm.

sighhh we can only hope hehe

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I agree. To be "CERTIFIED ORGANIC" (which is what we are supposed to look for on the label) the grower has to complete a 600 page questionnaire every 6 months. Produce etc. can be labeled "organic or organically grown" which is also good, but those items don't have the stringent guidelines a Certified Organic farm has. I doubt that Wal-Mart is going to carry certified organic produce and fruits.

Joan

Sneezing at Whole Foods costs $10.

I agree

Joan

I'm just kidding around. I actually like Whole Foods.

Generally though, mergers and acquisitions are not good for the consumer. More competition favors the consumer, while less favors the corporation.

this merger will not lower any prices in the organic community... actually whole foods and wild oats, generally, seem to have fewer organic produce choices than do other natural food stores... this is my experience but I've compared them in quite a few major markets like Seattle, San Diego, NYC, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Vancouver Canada.

going to whole foods is basically a shopping "experience" and when you shop there you pay for the "experience". They are really nice stores, great to be in and cool.. but getting back to my initial comment... all merging does is lower competition in areas and make vendors have to work less distribute, which is good for the vendor, but it almost never ends up in savings for the consumer.

"going to whole foods is basically a shopping "experience" and when you shop there you pay for the "experience".


I am a huge fan of Capers, have been for years and hope they don't change. They're genuine. I can't think of a single criticism, and I'm a very critical consumer. They're not cheap, but they're competitive, very community-minded, respect their employees and customers and suggestions, give intelligent, researched answers to your questions, and never 'nickel and dime' you. The customer gets the benefit of the doubt every time. They actively search out fair trade, organic food to sell, always show the country a fruit or veg is grown in, put full ingredient lists on every deli and bakery item, are certified organic food handlers, (I forget the rating they have), are efficient but never rushed or anxious ......I could go on.


I have met ppl who say Capers is just trendy - I never feel that way.
The founders were local ppl who wanted to purvey organic foods to the public - but they sold Capers to Wild Oats several years ago.

In South Beach Fla a couple of years ago, we went to Wild Oats there many times. We also stocked up on provisions before heading to Key West. We were surprised and disappointed to find that a lot of the fresh food we had to picnic on during the drive there was way below the standard we were used to at Capers. We assumed that since Wild Oats now owned Capers, that the two stores would have very similar standards - they didn't.


All that to say that I don't feel Capers (nor the Wild Oats I've been to in the states) is trying to give shoppers "an experience", but I certainly feel that way when I go into Planet Organic and Urban Fare - the effort is palpable, but unconvincing. There's no community feel and I get that feeling morrison66 gets from Whole Foods. I think the difference is in the integrity and intention of the store owners.

The reason Whole Foods is called "Whole Paycheck" is because a woman in D.C. wrote an article on them and stated that she couldn't bring her husband shopping with her to Whole Foods because he would spend the whole paycheck. (Because there was so much wonderful food there.) Not because of the prices.
just FYI.

Berlinpathos... say what you want about whole foods.. I've done the personal research... they charge more for conventional produce much of the time than do standard grocery stores. I'm in seattle right now and whole foods is charging $6.99 an lb for conventional cherries. Safeway, and safeway is NOT a discount grocer, is charging 3.99 for them. It's like this all the time. I've compared like my entire shopping list and whole foods comes out as more, even for identicle items. Plus your "wonderful food" claim actually validates my shopping experience claim. I admit they are great stores. I go in there for some things at least once a week. Sometimes they have great sales on things. Last week I bought an 18 lb watermelon for $4. It was great!

aquadeco... I worked at capers when I got to Vancouver and for some reason the technical field just didn't realize what the hell I had a degree in technical communication for. SFU and UBC and BCIT only offer certificate programs... plus they said I didn't have Canadian experience... anyway I digress. The people who work at capers are pretty cool. They are less expensive than Choices unless Choices is running a sale then choices is considerably less. Choices' sale prices are less than Capers' sale prices on the same items but generally you spend less at capers.

Also when Wild Oats bought Capers they left operations to Capers and didn't interfere. I thought the Cambie Capers was a great idea and it's a cool store... and they really support local agriculture.

Yeah Urban Fare is trying to be trendy..(I've never been to planet organic) and I just don't see how you can not say that Whole Foods is aiming for a shopping experience. Maybe it's because you like the atmosphere so much, as do I, that you are not paying attention to the underlying marketing value of being somewhere you really like. When I first moved to Vancouver, one of the main reason I didn't shop at Famous Foods on Kingsway was because I didn't like the atmosphere. When I figured out they generally chared less for grocery items than either Capers or Choices I made myself go there. Granted I wasn't raw then and Famous Foods' produce isn't as good as Capers' but still.

There is no possible way to say you aren't paying for decor and atmosphere when you look at Capers and Choices when you compare it to Drive Organics or Sweet Cheribum. No matter how great Capers is and how great their employees are, they still don't make much in an excruciatingly priced market. Capers is thorough and they sent me to Food Safe after the Hep C scare there and they do really take care of their customers, but I really felt taken care of at Famous Foods. Shop where you want. I'm going up to Vancouver this weekend and I'll stop at the Trout Lake Farm Market, Capers and maybe even choices that is quite close to my brother in law's, so I'm not saying it's bad... I'm just saying be completely aware of what is going on.

One last thing to remember is of course Capers started out as this great idea in West Van... and has maintained some, even if it's a small one, semblance of their original ideals no matter how corporatized it's become.

Wow, you're the only person here who has the same shopping trail I do!

I've never been to Whole Foods, so I can't comment - but if it's that cool, I better wear my polarized sunglasses.

When I was writing my love-for-Capers rant, it was just my views as a shopper, cuz I have never worked for them and don't know anyone who has. Also, I didn't say, but was thinking, that there has to be some 'atmosphere' we're paying for but nothing there EVER seems forced to me, no one EVER does anything but talk straight to me and I always get the exact amount of attention I want for shopping. I stopped going to specialty bakeries for party food and started buying only there. I always buy friends and families takeout there - or the Naam, which isn't as organic. When I eat out now, it's always either: Naam (large green salad with Naam dressing), Sweet Cherubim (large garden salad with raw dressing), Capers from the salad bar, no dressing, raw juice, or East is East for green tea chai and salad.

I only used Famous Foods (and Galloways) for cheaper (baking, etc) staples and still buy my detergent there (VIP unscented in a large pail). But I see their prices are rarely better than anywhere else now and I don't buy yogurt, etc anyway.

Yeah, the price thing about Choices and Capers is exactly what I find.


Pretty soon the Trout Lake Farmers Market will be going for the summer. The UBC farm market is great too, though tiny by comparison, and the produce disappears quickly from the shelves - they sell for other farms, too.


Sweet Cherubim doesn't have a great produce dept. Their signage is kinda poor, prices are usually the same as Capers.
Drive Organics - I go there every time I'm in the neighbourhood just to see. Now there's a new (seasonal) organic produce store on the same block as Drive.

However, since Capers became certified food handlers I buy my produce almost exclusively there - in part to support them and show my appreciation for their efforts, but mostly for my own benefit.

wow between you two (morrison an Aqua) i just discovered about 8 new places to check out shopping lol

only thing out here in the valley is the big branch groceries and local produce stores

of course we have our family farm and the locals to choose from .. i just wish there was better place buy the organic citrus and stuff out this way

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I was at Whole Foods in CT Sunday and organic peaches were on sale for $1.00 cheaper than the conventional which they had a huge display of including samples.I'm jealous you got a watermelon for $4.00. Here they were charging $9.99.(a couple of weeks ago they were $6.99) There IS a difference in their stores. The one in CT is small. If I go 15 min. further to White Plains, NY the store is HUGE with a lot more variety and selection. At the CT store I couldn't find organic tomatoes. A worker showed me where they were which was a very small area tucked away where you almost couldn't see them. They only had 10 left. There's a Whole Foods that's supposed to be built only 20 min. away. I hope it's like the one in White Plains!! I also agree that it's an "experience" to shop there. Both stores are always jam packed with customers. At Wild Oats it's hard to find a sales person. Some of the cashiers have no personality. I think the prices are higher than Whole Foods and no where near the variety. Does anyone ever shop at Trader Joe's? Their prices are really good on avocados and other organic produce.

Joan

I shop at Trader Joes...

aquadeco.. I'm sad to hear that about famous foods. If I ever live in Vancouver again, I'll probably look into community supported agriculture or something like that there. it's where you buy a share of produce direct from a grower and get it over the course.. I've never been to the UBC farm... thought about it when I lived there though...

If you want... maybe we can get together later this summer when we go up.

The times here have been talking about it coming here

Isnt "wholefoods" and "chain store" somewhat of an oxymoron...


[www.timesonline.co.uk]


[business.timesonline.co.uk]

I loooove Whole Foods Half of my grocery budget goes there LOL. My friends call it "Whole Paycheck"--not nice, but funny

A large grocery chain in my area has been carrying more organics, as well as more packaged organic foods...wild, huh?

morrisson66 Wrote:
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>
> aquadeco..
>
> If you want... maybe we can get together later
> this summer when we go up.

That would be great and maybe we could get some of the other Greater Vancouverites to join us.

aquadeco... I read the rules of the eastvan potluck and really wasn't interested in that scene... we are not that strict. We use salt, honey and braggs. A lot of things, mind you, have none of those things

Okay, yesterday I was going back to my place in Kits from Horseshoe Bay around noon and decided to stop at Park Royal to see Whole Foods.

I wasn't feeling great, so didn't stay long, just went in with a critical eye.

The pastry counter is close to the entrance, so I read the ingredients of several items: their food integrity isn't even in the same arena as Capers'.

Read Capers' pastry ingredients and there are as few in any of my great-grandmother's recipes.
But the Whole Foods lists are as long as Safeway's, and aren't much better than Choices bakery.

Soon after, I detected artificial room perfume and made my exit very soon after.

It reminded me of Urban Fare - big, bustling, profit-oriented, with very few of the virtues of Capers and Sweet Cherubim and Drive Orgs, and none of the integrity.

That's just my opinion, but I would only shop there as a last choice, since Capers is a few miles down Marine Drive.