Whole Foods can kiss my ass

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

The Oregonian story here.

"Natural" foods giant Whole Foods just dropped a subpoena on the small natural/organic grocery where I work, demanding two years' worth of financial statements, market analysis, and other extremely proprietary data. Why? Because the Federal Trade Commission is charging them with a monopoly, and they need our proprietary information to help prove that they don't have a monopoly. My boss is more diplomatic; I say they can go fuck themselves.

Whole Foods moved into Portland, Oregon just a couple of years ago, and at surface, one might think that their stores would fit in here: a green, liveable region full of educated consumers who know their way around organic eggplant. Shortly after opening their one store, Whole Foods acquired the Wild Oats chain, which had, just a few years before, moved into Portland converting around 20 formerly locally-owned preexisting natural foods stores. Wild Oats had suffered in the Northwest because, while consumers here regularly prefer organic selections, they also prefer locally raised and harvested products. Wild Oats continued stocking their stores from their California warehouses, scratching their heads and wondering where the customers were. When Whole Foods bought Wild Oats, WO was in serious financial straits. Whole Foods was able to drop some cash on their new grocery army, and even made token efforts to reestablish contacts with local growers.

That, of course, fell away when Whole Foods began to experience the same sort of downturn as Wild Oats, for the same fucking stupid reason. And in the current economic climate, they've been suffering even more. Now, two years after Whole Foods' acquisition of Wild Oats, the Federal Trade Commission's case is coming to court (February 2009) and they've set their sights on us: a 9-store chain, locally owned and operated, that specializes in local, natural, organic foods and local community support.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey used to be somebody I respect: he built a grocery chain around the idea that if you trumpet natural and organic, consumers will come. Now, I think he's just another asshole, especially after Mackey attempted to subvert Wild Oats stock before the purchase by posting (under a pseudonym) derogatory comments on stock trading sites. New York Times story here.

They say that only their lawyers and the judge will see our data, but they have also made it perfectly clear that they are gunning for our small chain as well. Our CEO is fighting the subpoena, especially since similar information from other small chains was NOT kept confidential by the FTC.

I am not suggesting a boycott, but I would ask Oregonians to think a little before shopping, choose the local team, and say screw you to the corporatist ass clowns.

[BlueIris]

1. Whole Paycheck is vile.

There have been rumors about its practice of slipping non-organic produce in with their regular stuff for a while now.