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"Whole Foods close to obtaining Wild Oats"


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Whole foods Market  aggressive efforts to acquire rival organic food retailer Wild Oats Markets Inc. are close to completion, but the company hasn't crossed the finish line yet.
Whole foods Market's web site
Wild Oats  was founded in 1987 with the purchase of Crystal Market, the only vegetarian natural foods store in Boulder, Colorado. With no experience in the natural foods business, our founders relied on the expertise of their employees and the wealth of natural product knowledge in Boulder to build Crystal Market into a thriving business. The timing was ideal, as the natural foods industry was about to embark on a rapid phase of growth and consolidation.
Capers web site
Capers Community Markets opened its first store on Marine Drive in West Vancouver more than 20 years ago, and is now Canada’s leading natural and organic foods retailer with four locations in Greater Vancouver. Capers has been instrumental in laying the foundation for the growth of the organic and natural foods industry in Vancouver.
If whole foods market Inc.’s takeover of rival Organic food retailer wild Oats Markets Inc, then they will have a very large presence in the Vancouver market and most likely will control the natural food market. Choices Market in Vancouver (a local Natural food company) will be a fly in the ointment to the new Goliath (Whole foods) and Choices will definitely be the new David. It should create some very interesting retailing in the Vancouver area, with Whole foods having like six maybe seven stores. The gloves are off and we shall see if Whole foods will be allowed to fulfill their wish. Their presence will even affect the traditional grocery retailers with that store presence.

chef stovetop steve

Edited by stovetop (log)
Cook To Live; Live To Cook
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Word is the US Federal Trade Commission is reviewing the transaction... to see if the acquisition would create a monopoly. Probably not an issue here in Canada knowing stores of that nature are relatively few and far between but in some US cities it is a different sotry.

Cheers,

Brian

Brian Misko

House of Q - Competition BBQ

www.houseofq.com

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I'm not sure what the fuss is about. Capers is dreadful. It suffers from that old business school adage "to small to be big, to big to be small."

In Dundarave there is a new organic butcher (Sebastian's). Capers meat selection is pityful by comparison.

Haing just recently returned to Vancouver, I think there are enough specialty stores within a 40min drive that I almost never need to go to Whole Foods.

Let's not forget that consumer demand is a very powerful force. Support local businesses, not corporations.

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....Let's not forget that consumer demand is a very powerful force.  Support local businesses, not corporations....

sure, but there is only so much $$ to go around, and when push comes to shove, people think about their own bottom line and not others and are not going to pay more to support local. just the way it works.

the extension of the tender offer to Aug 27 is actually as a result of a rather complicated series of events with the FTC. it looks like the FTC is loosing the battle so far, but who knows.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/865...5699_ex99-1.htm

will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Edited by mkjr (log)

officially left egullet....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mark does make a good point about Capers -- the one Dundarave, at least, has been pretty bad for quite a while. The produce is banged up, especially when compared to the spectacular produce at Whole Foods (I've been pigging out on their heirloom tomatoes) and some of the people behind the deli counter are downright surly. Whole Foods may be a monster corporation, but they provide a nice (though expensive) product and shopping experience. I won't miss Capers if it goes under.

Paul B

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Mark does make a good point about Capers -- the one Dundarave, at least, has been pretty bad for quite a while. The produce is banged up, especially when compared to the spectacular produce at Whole Foods (I've been pigging out on their heirloom tomatoes) and some of the people behind the deli counter are downright surly. Whole Foods may be a monster corporation, but they provide a nice (though expensive) product and shopping experience. I won't miss Capers if it goes under.

I will not miss the giant when it is goes under?

Irony :biggrin:

steve

Cook To Live; Live To Cook
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sure, but there is only so much $$ to go around, and when push comes to shove, people think about their own bottom line and not others and are not going to pay more to support local. just the way it works.

I disagree. Sure, if you can get the same thing cheaper elsewhere, then you are not going to pay for it. The key is to sell something different that people would be prepared to pay more for. Sebastian's is a case in point. He know who his suppliers are (all organic), will order what you want as long as it's availble, hangs his own beef (for 21 days) and stocks game. Capers or WFs certainly won't/don't do any of that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well the deal closed on August 28th, so we shall see what changes are made in Vancouver.

Seems to me there's still room for more high-end grocers in Vancouver although Urban Fare seems to have locked up at least a couple of downtown locations.

Cheers,

Anne

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Um, may i suggest Gastown- buy a spot now & develop- 2-3 years should be plenty of time(planning,design & building would take a while). Perhaps a smaller space without restaurant & costly kitchens, the area is pretty well served for restos.

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Um, may i suggest Gastown- buy a spot now & develop- 2-3 years should be plenty of time(planning,design & building would take a while). Perhaps a smaller space without restaurant & costly kitchens, the area is pretty well served for restos.

The bigger the store, the longer patrons stay. The longer patrons stay, the more they buy. I'd also wager that the prepared food component is the most profitable area of the store. It is also a vent for ingredients within the store.

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