After being dumped by Burbankians, Whole Foods did what any depressed, dejected company might do. They splurged and purchased Wild Oats. Being dumped leads one to do strange things. The two mega-organic, totally high end food stores will combine to form one super-fantastic high-end, organic food store company. The move is seen as a way of fending off increased competition from the likes of Wal Mart, Safeway, Trader Joes, and dare we say Tesco. Via CNNMoney.com:
"The growth opportunity in this category has led to increased competition from many players, most of whom are not dedicated natural and organic foods supermarkets, but are considerably larger than we are," Whole Foods Chief Executive John Mackey said in a statement. "The timing for our two companies to join forces could not have been better." With the move, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods will keep Wild Oats out of the hands of a traditional grocer, which could have used the chain's expertise in the organic and natural food market to compete against Whole Foods.
Game on, Tesco!
· Whole Foods inks $565M deal for Wild Oats [CNNMoney.com]