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Report: Whole Foods to nix 365 store banner

Locations set to be renamed as Whole Foods Markets

Russell Redman

February 27, 2019

2 Min Read
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Just over a month after confirming plans to open no more Whole Foods 365 stores, Whole Foods Markets now may be planning to drop the retail banner altogether.

The upscale grocer, part of Amazon.com Inc., is slated to change the 365 stores to the Whole Foods Market banner by the year’s end, Yahoo! Finance reported late yesterday.

Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Currently, there are a dozen Whole Foods 365 locations. The first, the Silver Lake store in Los Angeles, opened in May 2016. The rest are in Concord, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Upland, Calif.; Akron, Ohio; Cedar Park and Houston, Texas; Decatur and Atlanta, Ga.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Lake Oswego, Ore.

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“We have decided that it’s in the best long-term interest of the company to concentrate our efforts on growing the core Whole Foods Market brand moving forward,” Whole Foods CEO John Mackey told employees in a memo last month.

In part seen as a strategy to shed the “Whole Paycheck” label, the 365 store concept was touted by Whole Foods as a way to provide lower prices and a more local flavor, in turn creating more expansion possibilities.

At about 25,000 to 30,000 square feet, the format is smaller than traditional Whole Foods supermarkets — which average roughly 38,000 square feet and can range up to 50,000 square feet — and carries less than half of the 20,000-plus SKUs at the full-size stores and has no full-service departments.

Related:Whole Foods shelves 365 store concept

“When we launched our Whole Foods Market 365 stores, the intention was to create a more value-focused and streamlined shopping experience that maintained the integrity of Whole Foods’ quality in a convenient format that’s less expensive to build and operate. We have been successful in achieving these goals,” Mackey explained in the memo. “However, as we have been consistently lowering prices in our core Whole Foods Market stores over the past year, the price distinction between the two brands has become less relevant. As the company continues to focus on lowering prices over time, we believe that the price gap will further diminish.”

Plans call for Whole Foods to integrate the 365 stores into its current regional structure. Overall, Whole Foods operates 476 stores in the U.S., plus 14 in Canada and seven in the United Kingdom.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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