Hepburn
06-26-2007, 10:34 AM
(http://www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=51822)
Ms. Chocolate Feb-24-07 01:05 AM
Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
merger announcement http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com//investor/pr07-02-21merger.pdf
Gobble gobble gobble!
Ms. C.
goodworks1 Feb-24-07 09:55 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
They really are getting huge, aren't they?
Flutterbees Feb-24-07 03:37 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Whole foods seems to be THE place to shop around here. Everyone raves about their deli food, & the quality of their produce.
I had one of their brand canned soda, orange flavored. They don't use high fructose corn syrup, but sugar. It was a good soda, flavor wise, but sweeter than I was used to-which was good cuz I drank it slower & appreciated it more.
Afraid to shop there for fear I'll break the bank-it all looks good
goodworks4music Feb-24-07 03:59 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
If Wild Oats is gone... what is next for them to gobble? The only store around here competing in any way with WFs is Trader Joe's. And that is like comparing Jewel or Dominicks with Aldi's. Just not the same business plan...
What else is out there? The small health food stores? The farmer's markets? The ethnic grocery stores that stock local veggies?
knicknacnook Feb-24-07 05:27 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Ugh. We shop at Wild Oats because it's got good organic and fresh stuff like WFoods, but cheaper. I sure hope they don't do away with the Wild Oats brand - I buy quite a few things from them.
maison rustique Feb-24-07 06:57 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
I'm hoping this helps me. We have a Henry's Market (part of Wild Oats) very near to us. When it first opened a few years back, it was great! Excellent quality, selection and prices. Then a couple of years later, it really went downhill. I'm not sure if it was poor management of that particular store or if it was due to the chain being sold (I think it was sold a few years back?), but I stopped shopping there.
If this means better quality again, I won't mind paying a bit more. :)
sagemoon-cottage Feb-25-07 08:53 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Deb, I am with you on this one. I am hoping it helps. We had a WONDERFUL locally owned natural foods market that was bought out by Wild Oats. It has been downhill ever since. My roommates daughter works at WO and has for about 5 years now (maybe 6). I have sadly watched the decline. WO corporate management has left a lot to be desired, frankly I am afraid that WO would have gone the way of the Edsel if the merger hadn't happened.
For example WO has been sending things like Gatorade, Campbell's Soups and etc. telling the local stores that they WILL stock them. Also, they have started bringing meats with nitrites in them into the deli and informing them to sell them as if they didn't. So there have been some issues with what the corporate office has been doing that have cost the local store a lot of business.
Furthermore, I can find more organic produce at my local Kroger than I can at WO. In addition WO has been charging organic prices for their conventionally grown produce...which keeps those of us who read the signs from buying most of their produce (less than a third of the produce in my local WO is organic) and is ripping off those who either don't or can't read the produce signs. (They are hard to read.) I go in on a regular basis to look for organic (and fair trade) produce but am always disappointed by the selection (or lack thereof).
I wish the locally owned store was still here...the purchase of the local store by WO has meant lesser quality and has seriously undermined a previously very strong wholesale food co-op in NW Arkansas because WO didn't buy from them as had the locally owned store. Also, WO killed off all but one of the smaller "health food" stores in the area so their business was lost too.
I don't expect miracles from the merger but it would be nice to have a quality natural foods store available again. So...I will wait and see!
A2 who wishes she had the money to create a strong local natural foods store!
maison rustique Feb-25-07 09:20 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Another funny thing...
The Henry's Market is in a location where the area farmers' market sets up in the parking lot every Sunday. I can get a fresher, better selection of locally grown produce at the farmers' market than I can at Henry's! And for about the same price!
knicknacnook Feb-25-07 09:28 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Wow, those last two posts are eye-openers - sorry you guys are having such a negative experience with WO. Ours is the complete opposite - it's borderline too upscale already. And it's definitely organic and/or non-processed foods all the way. I love Wild Oats brand organic frozen vegees, waffles, juices, some cereals. I buy Stonefields and Horizon dairy products there (mostly yogurt) and buy whatever fresh meat or deli meat is on sale every week. The beef is always excellent - so much more flavorful! My mom does a ton of shopping there, having quite a few dietary restrictions for heart health and food allergies. They also have a large bulk food section including, pb, flours, rice, oats, sugars, cookies and crackers, granola, trail mixes, etc.
Well, I hope that the sale to WFoods does help improve the quality overall if it is such an issue in other Wild Oats stores!
Our Whole Foods is only a mile or so up the road from the Wild Oats, while the Wild Oats is right across the street from the Jewel (coventional grocery), making it easy to buy everything between the two stores. So I'm really concerned they will close up the Wild Oats, and we'll be stuck with the Whole Foods, which is REALLY gourmet, upscale, and expensive.
sagemoon-cottage Feb-25-07 10:40 AM
Dear Knicknacnook..
I hope you don't lose the benefits of your Wild Oats...it sounds like what our locally owned store was like before WO made Gary "an offer he couldn't refuse"...we have a Fresh Market opening very soon in the truly upscale part of our town so I am hoping that when WF comes in that they will maintain more moderate prices. We shall see.
I do like many of the WO branded products but in all honesty...Kroger is really pushing into that territory with their "Naturally Preferred" brand and has similar quality at better prices. So I usually buy the Kroger brand. In all honesty Kroger's push into the "natural foods" arena has been a detriment to WO but WO has shot itself in the foot in many ways in this market so Kroger doesn't get all of the blame but it hasn't helped any.
In closing I will say that WO is only one of two places I will buy fresh fish. They have the best fish counter in town. The meat manager is very strict on cleanliness so that is a plus.
This is all going to be very interesting to see how things shake out.
A2
maison rustique Apr-11-07 07:32 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
I was wrong! I'd stopped going to Henry's some time ago when it started going downhill. I went there today because I was looking for a particular organic product and figured they would have it. What a surprise! They've completely re-done the store. It was neat and clean and the produce was terrific!
Guess I'll start shopping there again--unless it changes for the worse! :wave:
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Ms. Chocolate Feb-24-07 01:05 AM
Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
merger announcement http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com//investor/pr07-02-21merger.pdf
Gobble gobble gobble!
Ms. C.
goodworks1 Feb-24-07 09:55 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
They really are getting huge, aren't they?
Flutterbees Feb-24-07 03:37 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Whole foods seems to be THE place to shop around here. Everyone raves about their deli food, & the quality of their produce.
I had one of their brand canned soda, orange flavored. They don't use high fructose corn syrup, but sugar. It was a good soda, flavor wise, but sweeter than I was used to-which was good cuz I drank it slower & appreciated it more.
Afraid to shop there for fear I'll break the bank-it all looks good
goodworks4music Feb-24-07 03:59 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
If Wild Oats is gone... what is next for them to gobble? The only store around here competing in any way with WFs is Trader Joe's. And that is like comparing Jewel or Dominicks with Aldi's. Just not the same business plan...
What else is out there? The small health food stores? The farmer's markets? The ethnic grocery stores that stock local veggies?
knicknacnook Feb-24-07 05:27 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Ugh. We shop at Wild Oats because it's got good organic and fresh stuff like WFoods, but cheaper. I sure hope they don't do away with the Wild Oats brand - I buy quite a few things from them.
maison rustique Feb-24-07 06:57 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
I'm hoping this helps me. We have a Henry's Market (part of Wild Oats) very near to us. When it first opened a few years back, it was great! Excellent quality, selection and prices. Then a couple of years later, it really went downhill. I'm not sure if it was poor management of that particular store or if it was due to the chain being sold (I think it was sold a few years back?), but I stopped shopping there.
If this means better quality again, I won't mind paying a bit more. :)
sagemoon-cottage Feb-25-07 08:53 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Deb, I am with you on this one. I am hoping it helps. We had a WONDERFUL locally owned natural foods market that was bought out by Wild Oats. It has been downhill ever since. My roommates daughter works at WO and has for about 5 years now (maybe 6). I have sadly watched the decline. WO corporate management has left a lot to be desired, frankly I am afraid that WO would have gone the way of the Edsel if the merger hadn't happened.
For example WO has been sending things like Gatorade, Campbell's Soups and etc. telling the local stores that they WILL stock them. Also, they have started bringing meats with nitrites in them into the deli and informing them to sell them as if they didn't. So there have been some issues with what the corporate office has been doing that have cost the local store a lot of business.
Furthermore, I can find more organic produce at my local Kroger than I can at WO. In addition WO has been charging organic prices for their conventionally grown produce...which keeps those of us who read the signs from buying most of their produce (less than a third of the produce in my local WO is organic) and is ripping off those who either don't or can't read the produce signs. (They are hard to read.) I go in on a regular basis to look for organic (and fair trade) produce but am always disappointed by the selection (or lack thereof).
I wish the locally owned store was still here...the purchase of the local store by WO has meant lesser quality and has seriously undermined a previously very strong wholesale food co-op in NW Arkansas because WO didn't buy from them as had the locally owned store. Also, WO killed off all but one of the smaller "health food" stores in the area so their business was lost too.
I don't expect miracles from the merger but it would be nice to have a quality natural foods store available again. So...I will wait and see!
A2 who wishes she had the money to create a strong local natural foods store!
maison rustique Feb-25-07 09:20 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Another funny thing...
The Henry's Market is in a location where the area farmers' market sets up in the parking lot every Sunday. I can get a fresher, better selection of locally grown produce at the farmers' market than I can at Henry's! And for about the same price!
knicknacnook Feb-25-07 09:28 AM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
Wow, those last two posts are eye-openers - sorry you guys are having such a negative experience with WO. Ours is the complete opposite - it's borderline too upscale already. And it's definitely organic and/or non-processed foods all the way. I love Wild Oats brand organic frozen vegees, waffles, juices, some cereals. I buy Stonefields and Horizon dairy products there (mostly yogurt) and buy whatever fresh meat or deli meat is on sale every week. The beef is always excellent - so much more flavorful! My mom does a ton of shopping there, having quite a few dietary restrictions for heart health and food allergies. They also have a large bulk food section including, pb, flours, rice, oats, sugars, cookies and crackers, granola, trail mixes, etc.
Well, I hope that the sale to WFoods does help improve the quality overall if it is such an issue in other Wild Oats stores!
Our Whole Foods is only a mile or so up the road from the Wild Oats, while the Wild Oats is right across the street from the Jewel (coventional grocery), making it easy to buy everything between the two stores. So I'm really concerned they will close up the Wild Oats, and we'll be stuck with the Whole Foods, which is REALLY gourmet, upscale, and expensive.
sagemoon-cottage Feb-25-07 10:40 AM
Dear Knicknacnook..
I hope you don't lose the benefits of your Wild Oats...it sounds like what our locally owned store was like before WO made Gary "an offer he couldn't refuse"...we have a Fresh Market opening very soon in the truly upscale part of our town so I am hoping that when WF comes in that they will maintain more moderate prices. We shall see.
I do like many of the WO branded products but in all honesty...Kroger is really pushing into that territory with their "Naturally Preferred" brand and has similar quality at better prices. So I usually buy the Kroger brand. In all honesty Kroger's push into the "natural foods" arena has been a detriment to WO but WO has shot itself in the foot in many ways in this market so Kroger doesn't get all of the blame but it hasn't helped any.
In closing I will say that WO is only one of two places I will buy fresh fish. They have the best fish counter in town. The meat manager is very strict on cleanliness so that is a plus.
This is all going to be very interesting to see how things shake out.
A2
maison rustique Apr-11-07 07:32 PM
Re: Whole Foods acquires Wild Oats
I was wrong! I'd stopped going to Henry's some time ago when it started going downhill. I went there today because I was looking for a particular organic product and figured they would have it. What a surprise! They've completely re-done the store. It was neat and clean and the produce was terrific!
Guess I'll start shopping there again--unless it changes for the worse! :wave:
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:59 PM.
To adjust your timezone, visit your MyOTWA Control Panel.
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