Wondered when this was going to happen. Suspect they've been in talks for quite some time. We used to shop at Sun Harvest in the 80's, and I've been a few times to the Wild Oats store in Evanston. Also, Peapod sells Wild Oats private label goods, I wonder what will happen to these?
Whole Foods to Acquire Wild Oats Whole Foods agreed to acquire Wild Oats Markets for about $565 million, greatly expanding the organic-grocery chain's footprint amid stiffer competition....
Wild Oats Markets has annual sales of about $1.2 billion. The company was founded in Boulder, Colo., in 1987 and currently operates 110 stores in 24 states and British Columbia. Its four store brands are Wild Oats Marketplace, Henry's Farmers Market in Southern California, Sun Harvest in Texas and Capers Community Market in British Columbia.Whole Foods had sales of $5.6 billion in fiscal 2006 and currently has 191 stores in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
John Mackey, chairman and chief executive of Whole Foods Market, said the acquisition “is a great geographical fit as all of our 11 operating regions will gain stores and three of our smallest regions -- our Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain and Florida regions -- will gain critical mass.” He said the company “will also gain immediate access into a significant number of new markets.”
Tags: grocery, /organic, /Whole_Foods
