"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

I think the problem in this area is that customers demand organic foods. So
all of the stores are selling them now.