Thread regarding Whole Foods Market Inc. layoffs

I think its well over 100 years now. HEB ran off albertaons, kroger, handy andy, kmart and a host of other grocers...so wfm wasnt a big deal..more like "oh thats cute, they think their kong, go ahead and let them wear their paper crown". Ive mentioned this before, but HEB seems to have gone through a customer service retraining and gleened what wfm use to be about and implemented it. I cannot vouch for all locations, but three I have been two recently I was pretty much caught offguard by the level of genuine interaction and how it has been ramped up (two of these stores had a major remodel...and arent exactly in the nicest of neighborhoods, but you feel good going there). I just took issue with a lot of things at wfm...this isn't a wonderful example but its a situation we all deal with. Are you really going to pay $3 MORE for tp with the texture of sandpaper or go pick up some quilted northern that is cheaper and probably has a $1.50 coupon stacked on top of that. Can I goto wfm and buy a pyrex pie pan for $10 and get EVERYTHING needed to make a pumpkin pie for free? (No. And yes that deal was in their flyer last week). The bundle deals wfm had were still over-priced. The backtoschool one in particular was ludicrous considering what you had to pay for the deli meat in the first place, and for bread that would mold within a week.

I guess what I'm saying is that HEB never had false fronts. They are a business, they are there to make money. How they approach and cut deals with vendors and manufacturers gives them the ability to keep their prices low. There are times at central market where I noticed organic and conventional mixed up, etc, but it isnt a fault of the entity itself, you can,only micromanage to a certain extent before you might as well do it yourself, and well, lets face it, management doesnt believe they are paid to do so. When it comes to wfm, they stomp and throw fits about how high their standards are, and i saw some exceptionally foul practices in my years there. Theyre just putting on a show and it isnt that the public doesnt see it, they just didnt expect wfm to conduct business in such an obtuse manner, so its just hard for them to believe. But they're use to their 28$lb salmon and 9$ sandwiches (do not even get me started on that...). You stop and wonder sometimes, what sort of game is this. It's not a damn highschool play, it's a freaking movie production, so stop screwing around with numbers and get real about the situation. Is the wfm model sustainable, no. And that to me was the most ironic thing about wfm...nothing ever made a damn bit of sense. Even between 2 stores that are a 15 minute drive apart operated so bastly different, even in something as crucial as balancing the books.

Another technology ive seen in test markets are belts capable of scanning barcodes and check out. So while the cashier might have to stop to look up a produce code, your cereal and frozen eggrolls just got rung up. I can see the downside to it, but they are willing to advance efficiency of their workfork to USE technology, not be replaced by it. That is a HUGE difference there people. The steps wfm is taking feeble attempts to catch up. They can only sprint in the short term while companies such as heb have been structured for an endurance run.

Whole foods is the new Walmart. Wholemart. Exploiting employees just like Walmart.

We are an unprofitable Wal Mart

200871: Good point about HEB and Central Market. They've only been at it for like 90 years, seems like they might know a thing or two about selling groceries, huh? The hybrid model is how most conventional grocers and the warehouse clubs are handling the demand for natural/organic. And it's very effective. People know they can still get their Tide detergent or their light bulbs and Ziploc bags while still enjoying sustainable seafood, gourmet cheeses or Bob's Red Mill items. Publix has three "Greenwise Markets" but other than that, they have this flex format where up to 90% of the store is upscale and Greenwise branded depending on the neighborhood's demand for it. Some of the stores have track lighting, cooking classes and coffee bars, others are more institutional and basic. The key is that customers perceive that they're getting a good value because they ARE getting a good value. Totally agree with you that this requires logic and planning. Rich or poor (or in-between), everyone wants to save a buck. Give people a good value every day and you'll keep them for life, but gimmicks get you nowhere.

As a side note, central market is an extension of heb. they went the opposite route of wfm. Take a fairly priced, established business and create a high-end version that is still reasonable, then go back to your main business and bring in the best-selling brandname merchandise from it to try to attract peoplw to the higjer-end, specialized location. It worked far better than being known for high prices and attempting to open a "lower price" chain in reaction instead of executing a well-thoughtout business plan based on solidmarket research and proven models. But yeah, that would take a regional/global team that could actually think logically to make it happen. Lol. I guess they still want to be "different". When you whine so much about how different you are, people tend to think you're trying too damn hard. When I think of wfm, I picture stuck-up, spoiled rich brats stoping to smell what they think are roses, but turns out to be total bullshit.

Well, WFM almost bought Wild Oats. What had happened was that the acquisition was all but completed when it was ruled an anti-trust violation. Because most of the stores had been folded in, WFM lost the right to the name Wild Oats. It was ultimately bought back by union-friendly grocery billionaire Ron Burkle and Wild Oats products are being re-introduced via Walmart and ultimately Sam's Club. So, while many Wild Oats locations were acquired, technically, the acquisition never happened. Ironically, it was Burkle who originally owned Wild Oats! And here's some chutzpah for you: While WFM was telling the world how special it was to be natural and organic, it tried to tell the judge that it (and Wild Oats) were nothing special at all..."We're just a grocery store so how can this tie-up be a monopoly?" Unnnnnnbelievable. The judge didn't buy it.

@ poop is organic : brilliant. I loved your line about the over eaters writing about their over eater adventures. I think you summed it up beautifully.

And wfm bought wild oats!@!

Don't look now, but Lucky's (out of Boulder, CO) is now ramping up expansion everywhere especially in Florida. Their motto is "Organic for the 99%".... gotta love it. The list of very talented and smart specialty competitors just grows and grows. TJs, Sprouts ("Healthy Living for Less"), Natural Grocers, Fairway, Fresh Market, Southern Season, Lucky's...the list goes on and on. Don't laugh at so-called conventionals either...they are opening other storefronts or going hybrid with up to 80% or more natural/organic. Kroger Simple Truth, Publix Greenwise, Wegman's, Meijer Fresh Thyme, H.E.B. Central Market, Walmart (with its Wild Oats tie-in), Costco etc....These competitors don't need stupid regional presidents and figureheads. They don't care if (insert unnamed unqualified jerk here): someone's wife, husband or best college buddy has a cushy job in the office down the hall next to you. They don't care if you party in Costa Rica and lunch in London. They HAVE invested in technology all along and it's not some wack new unproven concept either. They don't send bloated overeaters all over to write about their adventures in overeating. They will borrow a billion dollars to start their own organic farms instead of borrowing a billion dollars so management can buy itself stock options at the company's expense (which the company announced during its last earnings conference call). They don't open in hick towns where most customers shop at Family Dollar for deals on Cheetos, or a mile down the road from existing stores, or in the UK so they can create an ego-driven "global brand." Instead of writing fantasy tales like "Conscious Capitalism" they are focused on business. And they don't lay loyal, longtime people off so they can maybe, possibly but not necessarily "hire them back" for a lot less money. Notice that we haven't heard much bragging lately about how there's a market for 1,200 stores in the US. Hmmmmm.

We too have ATL and TL picking up shifts in other dept. Feast or famine it is. We are trying to look at labor on a store level - not just team based. Gainsharing is changing. We are a test market. It focuses more on utilizing labor than wasting it. So it's easier to get the TMS to understand why we are shuffling so much.

Our analysts project a return to growth in a year. A year! And what will happen during that time? More "cost-reduction initiatives". Like you said, we will be Wal-Mart.

If there was...not anymore. I'm betting, you will be axed or asked to step-down sooner or later. There is no way this company will continue to pay positions, at the top of the pay scale, for any length of time, and if you do remain, I assure you they will double if not triple your work-load. You either, move and drink more look-aid, or move out.

there is no tenure at whole foods.

Wow, TLs? At my store many team members have been shuffled from one department in labor deficit to another department that is not in deficit. No TLs yet, however if they start phase two of this process - collapsing teams into one another, chaos will follow. Imagine a TL with 20 year tenure just working as a team member in another department? How would that even work?