Whole Foods Promotes Robb, Gallo as Q2 Results Soar

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Foods Market here said Wednesday it has named Walter Robb co-chief executive officer and A.C. Gallo as president and chief operating officer — moves John Mackey, co-CEO and co-founder of the chain said do not mean he plans to slow down.

It's simply an acknowledgment to the outside world of the role both executives have played for years, Mackey said. “My goal is to keep this team together for another decade or so,” he told investors.

Robb and Gallo previously held the title of co-presidents.

For the 12-week second quarter that ended April 11, Whole Foods said net income was up 91.3% to $67.5 million, sales rose 13.4% to $2.2 billion and comparable-store sales increased 8.7%; for the 28-week half, net income jumped 81.4% to $122.6 million, sales climbed 9.7% to $4.7 billion and comps rose 5.7%.

Mackey cautioned investors to restrain their euphoria “because we were going up against negative comps — and most conventional operators didn't drop as much as we did, so part of it is simply a rebound effect.”

However, he said Whole Foods experienced its first increase in basket size in six quarters, while transactions counts were also up. He also said branded-product sales growth has been outpacing private-label growth over the last two quarters, “and we are seeing some indications of customers starting to selectively trade up to higher-priced items in certain areas.”

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