>Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is frank about that. He recently told The
>Independent (UK), "You can't have it both ways. If you want the highest
>quality, it costs more. It's like complaining that a BMW is more expensive
>than a Hyundai. Yes, but you're getting a better car."
That's such bullshit. The markup at WF is huge. In the bay area it's
pretty easy to figure out that it's a huge markup because there are
alternative organic food stores and farmers' markets where the prices
are much lower. The "Whole Foods" phenomenon in the bay area is about
having rich white people have a place to shop. That's all. They're
actually pretty disgusting places -- temples to the yuppy body.
>Many academics and grassroots activists in the sustainable-agriculture
>movement are asking those kinds of questions, doing some hard thinking about
>how society can pay farmers (preferably noncorporate farmers) adequately to
>raise nutritious food in less ecologically destructive ways while keeping
>the end products affordable for all.
>
The farmers don't get shit. Most of the cost goes to maintaining the
corporate structure.
>I asked co-founder Brahm Ahmadi what makes it possible for People's Grocery
>to sell good, natural food that low-income families can afford, while Whole
>Foods can't. He said the fundamental difference is that "they're pursuing
>profit and we aren't."
>
Good article...
Joanna
I haven't been to Whole Foods in the bay area but are you certain their markup is that extreme? I have a friend who works at Whole Foods in Brentwood and their margins are mighty slim.
I used to have a small grocery/health food store and I can tell you that even if the markup seemed high the shrink was astronomical. We sold the most expensive groceries in town and still went under. Granted we didn't have the purchasing power of Whole Foods but our prices were way higher than the farmers market and many of those farmers/sellers made much more money than we did.
I won't defend the entire industry against charges of elitism. It exists and it is a big part of the market. For every 5 customers who shop at WF because it is "chic" there is one of those same self-smug assholes who shop at an independent "organic retailer" for the same reason. Believe me, they weren't shy about telling you why they preferred the small retailer to WF and it wasn't because it was family friendly. Even the smaller shops have to cater to these assholes to some degree in order to be profitable. They just spend too damn much more money than poor folks to be ignored.
If the People's Grocery isn't pursuing profit how do they service their loans? If they have no loans where did their startup capital originate and/or how have they grown? I know the answers in my case and it wasn't a pretty picture.
John Thornton