Metspitzer wrote:
>
> The grocery chain, which mostly entices young, trendy city dwellers,
> is now moving into smaller, suburban areas where its new, smaller
> stores are seeing stronger returns. But to make it work, Whole Foods
> has to rid itself of its top-dollar reputation. A nickname like "Whole
> Paycheck" will make it tough to draw in the new demographic, since
> lower-priced competitors are homing in on the fresh-food fad.

Their old business model is suffering in the current
recession, so they are trying Trader Joe's model.
The problem with this is they're carrying the baggage
of the old model. A smarter move would have been to
use a new name for the stores in the new model, so
people wouldn't think of the high prices for small
portions of overpackaged food. Instead, they're
cheapening the high-end name while hobbling the
venture into mid-range stores.