What is Digg?80 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Whole Oats ?
- getjustin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14Dirty, granola-eating hippies of the world rejoice!
- Kenzan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Whole Paycheck..er..I mean Whole Foods needs to re-evaluate their target consumer group to include more than just affluent Hipsters and upper middle class Soccer Moms.
I'd love to shop there, but the prices are INSANELY HIGH! - rcran, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Well, there is a button you press if you like it. And lots of people did see, but you don't have to...
- Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Sorry to burst your bubble, but Whole Foods is a much better run company than you think. They're consistently listed as one of the top five companies to work for, their CEO only took a $300K/yr salary - until this year, where he's turning that salary over to create an emergency fund for employees. They treat their employees quite well, pay, benefits, time off. They'll pay you up to 20 hours a year for time you take off work to do volunteer/charity work outside the company.
I'm not necessrily a fanboy, I just know these things are true, and it pleases me to see a company behave more responsibly. - canewediggit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6i just hope they convert all of them. the wild oats by me is horrible, i have to drive 30 minutes so i can go to whole foods.
- Fantt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6As some nerds get older, they find that eating a healthy diet from a place like Whole Foods makes them feel better and think more clearly than eating the trip sold at Safeway, etc.
- noamsml, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Whole Food doesn't need to eliminate competitors to drive prices up. They drive them up regardless.
- ZPWeeks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I've been going to Wild Oats since they opened the first store. They rock. Whole Foods is good too, I was happy to see them expand.
Now let's see if they can do anything about their prices.... - iceeblue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I am always a little put off as to why people complani about why such and such article got to the front page. Your interests are not mine and visa versa. Its ok we do not all have to be the same. Thats the point of digg see what is getting play and read what interests you skip by the stuff that doesn't.
As for this article, great I shop both stores. and its interesting to see the buyout. It has been fascinating to read the comments and I now know a lot more about Whole Foods than I did. My afternoon has been enriched by the experience.
I am a vegetarian and I find that Whole Foods caters a little more to us than Wild Oats. Their is a Wild Oats across from work so I hope they start using vegetable stock in their deli soups instead of chicken stock like Whole Foods does. - wiggles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You know, you can exclude business topics from your listings if you don't want to see them. Just because you don't care doesn't mean this isn't news to other people.
- krazytom, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I live near Boulder, CO and both the places are always busy as heck. I never got why so many people want to pay $5/gal for Organic milk and $3/carton for Organic eggs. I went to Wild Oats once to see their fresh fish selection, $18/lb for Halibut!
- teamtomato, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I was actually a very hard worker. Their constant rah-rah-ing and team building ***** got in the way of me doing my job. I don't need to memorize paragraphs of mission statements, or be indoctrinated in any other way to show up and work hard at cooking tofu.
- playerZero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Actually, i used to say the same thing. Have you been to one recently? At least in the Bay Area, i've noticed that if you buy their branded stuff, it's actually pretty damned cheap. Yeah, it depends on what you buy, but a lot of items (organically grown stuff, soy milk, etc) are actually more expensive at Safeway. So if you shop for that kind of stuff, you can actually save some money by getting it from Whole Foods.
I do think there are other reasons to be skeptical of WF (non-union, possibly anticompetetive, etc), but they're doing better and better on price (at least in the Bay Area, haven't been to one outside of here in years). - GabrielS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Seems like a bargain considering the growth potential in the field of "feel good grocer" retail.
Perhaps investors are short on these feel good chains because established players can easily shift to stock the same feel good products. - VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3mindtrigger, you had a point but the approach is all wrong.
- guarnibl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ noam
Their organic prices are way lower than national chains. Go in there, and then go into a Giant Eagle, Meijer, or Wal-mart... - VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think it's a shame, actually. I shop at both, because I enjoy the variety of products; Whole Foods has things that Wild Oats doesn't, and vice versa. Whole Foods doesn't carry any products with hydrogenated oil, and unfortunately a lot of that fake vegan ***** that I like contains it. There's quite a few things I have to go to Wild Oats for because Whole Foods doesn't carry them, and now they may disappear entirely.
PS - I don't mind the price, Whole Foods has AMAZING (in true Digg fashion) produce. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4So, I sold my WFMI for a bundle this afternoon. It'll probably come down again as '07 isn't expected to be a banner year for them. I'll hop back in if it does. Good company and buying Wild Oats was a stroke of genius, a very shrewd acquisition and the timing was perfect (especially for me).
Some companies go down and stay down. But when the good ones go down, they start trying something different. WFMI was in the crapper through most of '06. But they're in the top 100 companies to work for and when they got down they started experimenting. That's the mark of a great company. Contrast that with Kodak. When they started sliding they immediately started efforts to get people to use film again. Desperately clinging to the past instead of finding a new way forward. Eventually Kodak started to move toward digital photography and products but it took them a long time. - someirishguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Whole Foods has great produce, meat, fish etc but the prices on the rest of the dairy, dry goods etc are just stupid. I split my shopping between there and Trader Joes, and come out pretty much even.
- JoelBushart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't know why people call it whole paycheck, my wife and I almost exclusively shop there for food.
We like the organic / environmental concepts, however we aren't wealthy enough to shop there just because we like the philosophy they try to sell with the products.
We shop there because it only cost us about $10 more per trip to the market, other normal competitors week's groceries is apx $125 dollars, whole foods apx $130 with a margin of error at apx $5 for variance in what we're buying. - MindTrigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The best thing to do, where available, is find your local farmer's market. I know lots of areas don't have farmer's markets, but if you have one, get your perishables there.
You are supporting your local economy, prices are lower, and you are reducing your secondary carbon footprint by using fewer goods that are "trucked" (or shipped by other means) to your area grocers. - Mactard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Trader Joe's is better.
- noamsml, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Doesn't anyone see the irony in a chain of store championing human contact and fair trade buying out competitors?
- SteveSgt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4by krazytom "I never got why so many people want to pay $5/gal for Organic milk and $3/carton for Organic eggs. I went to Wild Oats once to see their fresh fish selection, $18/lb for Halibut!"
It might have something to do with the "True Cost of Food" < http://www.truecostoffood.org/ >.
I never got why people pay so much for "edible substances" that aren't even food at all. - codesuidae, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Whole Foods isn't just 'feel good' stock. They go to some effort to set up local supply chains so that each store can provide locally grown foods. I shop at the local farmers market when I can and many of those people also have deals with Whole Foods to supply vegetables and whatnot.
I think the localization efforts of Whole Foods is about the most important thing they do, but I like that they support many products that are organic, low impact and (more) sustainable things too.
I'd love to see Wal-Mart get on the band-wagon and use their muscle with suppliers to create an environmental product rating for some of the items they carry. They could have different levels of compliance, ranging from 'organic product', 'local product', 'worker friendly product', etc. The idea is that many Wal-Mart shoppers, such as myself, are quite willing and able to pay more for products created in a responsible fashion, but are unwilling to buy stuff that just looks like it is. If the retailer could provide a reliable indicator for items that are 'greener' I'd be happy to pay more to support those suppliers. As it is I could go shop at Super Target and pay more for stuff, but most likely I'll just get the same product that ConAgra packaged for both Wal-Mart and Target and i'll just be paying extra for the Peter Pan label instead of Great Value. - MindTrigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yeah, I don't get what is shocking about people wanting to buy food that isn't loaded with toxins, pesticides and hormones. It's ridiculous that we have to pay more for healthier food in this country, but I will do it to avoid the poisons our government allows/encourages us to consume.
- rumblpak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2im not one to promote the whole foods idea, however, having eaten at one a few times ill give you my experience. the food does taste good and is better for you (argue all you want). the service there is great. i really have no problem with the store at all. that said, unless someone is paying for me (poor ass college student), i will never shop there. its too damn expensive. is it worth what you pay? im sure it is, however, i dont have that kind of money to throw around.
- thewaxgrid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Organic and other natural products might be more expensive than GMO stuff found in other supermarkets, but you are usually getting better quality products. You get what you pay for.
Just because most people can't afford BMWs, should they cease to exist? For people who value health and the culinary arts, the expense of Whole Foods products are well worth it. Health and quality food should always be a priority, as the consequences of neglecting eco-friendly, healthful foods in favor of inedible, high fructose crap, etc. are far more costly. - master_of_fm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3someone photoshopped a picture of a whole foods storefront to make it say "Smelly Hippy", makes me laugh every time I see. too bad I dont have a copy saved on my work computer, otherwise I would share.
- cryptoisfun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Maybe because organic milk & eggs taste a lot better than their non-organic counterparts? I'm serious, regular milk tastes so "metallic" to me.
- Haohmaru, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Well, I've encountered some persistent types shopping there.
- The fat bearded guy that looks very unhealthy
- The ultra rich (or just dresses like it) woman
- The organic girl with ugly glasses and short hair
I miss anyone? - re34240, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2thats funny. i definitely pay less than 10$ a lb for my potatoes at whole foods. more like $1.29 a lb or less.
- djbelieve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2As a former long-time employee of Whole Foods I've heard the Whole Paycheck joke way too many times...I knew it would end up here. The employees at my store had our joke: Whole Foods...where the only thing higher than the prices are the employees.
Seriously though...if you only buy certain things there (sale items or 365 products for example) you can get great deals. Just don't get sucked in by all the retail tricks and impulse buys.
And as far as all the dirty hippie jokes go...Whole Foods has a hell of a lot more than granola and tofu. In fact, they have some of the best tasting food you can buy in America. Hardly any hippies shopped at our store... - illegal_op, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wild Whole
- master_of_fm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q167/masteroffm/smellyhippymart.jpg
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6Who wanted choice anyway?
It's so much better when you have only one option for healthier foods.
I'm sure WF won't use thier market position to drive up prices by eliminating competitors.
Oh, wait.... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Oh God... the hippies are forming their own massive corporation!"
Yep, and the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, turned vegan a few years back. - Nysul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The best part about whole foods is that it was founded by a libertarian, which is quite funny when you consider the target market:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mackey_(businessman) - VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, TJ's is "okay." Just like Wild Oats and Whole Foods, you'll find things at TJ's that you won't find elsewhere, and vice versa. One annoyance of TJ's is the pre-packaged produce instead of by weight: um, what if I don't need a whole bag of onions? And surprisingly, it's not as vegetarian-friendly as you'd expect. They have a few things here and there, but that's it. They actually got rid of some vegetarian items, like the soyrizo & potato taquitoes. That pissed me right off.
- holzp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes, Wild Oats is actually a chain of brothels.
- Ragnell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1We have a Wild Oats in our area. A great emporium that will be missed. I am unfamiliar with Whole Foods, but I hope they will maintain the same level of quality.
- cr4ft, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you cant beat em' , buy em'
- ckleint, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@tinker123
Ahh, but what about: "Wild Foods"?
Touche! - MindTrigger, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3lol, I get the biggest kick out of you ***** trendy, tragically cool bastards who rip on "hippies" (old, dead stereotype) as if there is something wrong with wanting to live a lifestyle of low impact on the environment. I don't know if you are looking around, but you wasteful bastards are the ones who are "out" these days. Wake up and help make the planet a better place to live, ya pricks.
As for the "smelly" part, that has to do with not wanting to use ***** ALUMINUM under your arms to stop BO. There are other ways, with natural products to smell good without using aluminum. Try looking at the ingredients of your name brand pit stick. *****.. look at the ingredients on ALL the toxic garbage you buy and put on your body. - plncrzy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1We have 3 Starbucks within 1 block, 2 are across the street from each other.
That being said -- maybe they'll just keep the nicer/bigger store and lease the other one to someone else. There's more than one way to make money with a store building! - MindTrigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2trader joes is 'ok' and they have better prices on some things, but most of their stores have an extremely limited selection. The stores are just too small.
- holzp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The just opened a Whole Foods down the street from a Wild Oats in Portland, Maine last week. Now what are they gonna do?
- lordbeaker, on 06/28/2009, -0/+1Who needs diversity... it's oh so nice to have only the same crap available to you in every city you visit.
- haggie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I buy about 70% of my groceries at TJ's, 20% from farmers markets, and the last 10% WF . TJ's selection of wild, fresh fish is non-existent and organic veggies are slim pickings with little variety. Although pricey, the WF fish counter is wonderful. Super fresh, great selection. Their fresh, wild halibut rocks, but at nearly $20/lb it ***** better!
-
Show 51 - 77 of 77 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is 