Whole Foods

[Pete]

They have tons of options all along Memorial.

I'm sure they want to be more towards the northeast side of Edmond to put some distance between these two stores and to better serve the growing East Edmond market.

[Pete]

BTW, really too bad the Classen Curve location did not anticipate the need to expand.

It's a smallish location to start with and the way the property was developed, it's completely locked in on all sides. Plus, parking is locked in as well.

[HangryHippo]

BTW, really too bad the Classen Curve location did not anticipate the need to expand.

It's a smallish location to start with and the way the property was developed, it's completely locked in on all sides. Plus, parking is locked in as well.

Wonderful planning, indeed.

[oklip955]

As far as an Edmond location near 2 nd and Bryant, they could look at the Danforth and Coltrane area. Land is available on 3 corners. I don't think they would have a lot of nimbys to deal with. I would love to have WF that close to me. With Crest Foods looking at the Covell and Sooner location, it might be a good fit.

[warreng88]

I am curious what the plan is for the land directly north of this, on the other side of the creek. I know this wouldnt be ideal, but they could build something there as well, maybe to anticipate Oklahoma liquor laws changing in a few years? Not saying make the entire area wine and beer, but a good mixture could work along with other things they need to add to the shopping experience. Honestly, if it were economically feasable, have wine, beer and all the areas where they make sandwiches, pizza, coffe, desserts, etc over there and normal shopping at the regular store. Not sure how you would connect the two, but an idea none the less.

[Dustin]

That empty lot directly to the south of pelican bay aquatic center would be a perfect location

[bluedogok]

Looks like changes might be a comin'

Austin American Statesman - Whole Foods’ shares jump on takeover speculation
Shares of Whole Foods Market jumped Friday on reports that Florida-based Publix Super Markets Inc. might be looking to acquire the Austin-based natural foods company.

[bchris02]

Looks like changes might be a comin'

Not sure what to think of that.

On the positive side, Publix is one of the best regular supermarket chains in the nation. This could be a great thing for OKC's grocery stores if this was a backdoor for Publix to enter the market. On the other side of that, I would hope the existing Whole Foods wouldn't be "downgraded" into a Publix store. Whole Foods has a brand recognition and an exclusivity about it that I hope doesn't get watered down.

[Pete]

Wowee. That would be a huge deal.

I posted about this before but the middle-market grocers are getting squeezed on both ends and that trend is accelerating, as consumers are increasingly opting for high-end (like Whole Foods) or deep discount (WinCo, Costco).

I suspect Publix sees the writing on the wall and wants to diversify.

[GoOKC1991]

YES! YES! YES! YES!

Publix is my favorite grocery store of all time, had them when I lived in South Carolina. Please let this happen!!!!!

[FritterGirl]

Not sure what to think of that.

On the positive side, Publix is one of the best regular supermarket chains in the nation. This could be a great thing for OKC's grocery stores if this was a backdoor for Publix to enter the market. On the other side of that, I would hope the existing Whole Foods wouldn't be "downgraded" into a Publix store. Whole Foods has a brand recognition and an exclusivity about it that I hope doesn't get watered down.

I really can't see how this would bode well for the WF brand, given that most grocery firms are going to want to do everything they can to consolidate distribution streams in an effort to keep costs down. Unless they wish to integrate some of the brands sold by Whole Foods into the Publix mix, I don't know how they would keep things separate. Then again, I'm not overly-versed on the grocery business.

My experiences with Publix when I lived in Florida were that they were right around the "nice" Homeland (former Albertsons) on N Britton and May, or on par with Crest. I definitely don't remember anything truly spectacular or noteworthy.

[Pete]

Publix started their own organic store, only opened 3, then decided it was best to incorporate the organic items into their existing stores.

Also, they have a lot of stores but are only in 6 states. This may be their way of accessing a much larger geography.

[bchris02]

My experiences with Publix when I lived in Florida were that they were right around the "nice" Homeland (former Albertsons) on N Britton and May, or on par with Crest. I definitely don't remember anything truly spectacular or noteworthy.

I agree. Crest on S May and 104th or Homeland on N May and Britton are about on par with a Publix. That's why I said that I hope they don't "downgrade" OKC's Whole Foods into a regular Publix if this deal does go through. Publix stores are better than most grocery stores in the OKC metro but they aren't Whole Foods.

[BoulderSooner]

Whole foods would I'm sure be operated as a separately company

[Questor]

Not a huge fan of Publix. They're sort of like what a store would look like if you took one of our nicest Albertson's from the 1990s and allowed the logical progression to today to happen. It'd probably be a good deal for both companies I'm sure as they sort of complement one another, but as is usually the case with such deals I don't really see something like this being a good thing for the consumer.

[soonerguru]

Whole Foods is arguably the most trusted grocer for providing organic and natural foods, produced and delivered sustainably. It's hard to imagine a conventional grocer being able to fit this niche in a manner that Whole Foods does. The Whole Foods brand is golden.

[bchris02]

Whole Foods is arguably the most trusted grocer for providing organic and natural foods, produced and delivered sustainably. It's hard to imagine a conventional grocer being able to fit this niche in a manner that Whole Foods does. The Whole Foods brand is golden.

I agree. My hope would be that Publix would keep the Whole Foods brand separate from its standard stores rather than convert them. This could be a really bad thing for the consumer if they decided to make all Whole Foods locations regular grocery stores.

[bombermwc]

My only gripe with Whole Foods is their mark-up. The place is great and all, but they spend so much on "flash" and they add so much onto prices....because they can because of who they target. I can find the same EXACT products at other places in town, like Sprouts, for a much lower cost. So it's not as though they are being forced to charge the higher amount just because its organic. Organic has a higher price anyway, but WF just goes above and beyond on their prices.

In Norman, you get the benefit of a lot better competition in this niche with Sprouts/Natural Grocers/Forward Foods/etc. Even Crest has some things to compete with. Not to mention the high quality Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds, which is FAR better than any other one in OKC (even OSU-OKC, only because OSU's tends to have more "stuff" than local food...watch those location tags). The more "hippie" (lol) world in Norman contributes to the market being open to the stuff, but keeps the overcharging companies like WF out because they know the residents wont pay for it.

[HangryHippo]

My only gripe with Whole Foods is their mark-up. The place is great and all, but they spend so much on "flash" and they add so much onto prices....because they can because of who they target. I can find the same EXACT products at other places in town, like Sprouts, for a much lower cost. So it's not as though they are being forced to charge the higher amount just because its organic. Organic has a higher price anyway, but WF just goes above and beyond on their prices.

In Norman, you get the benefit of a lot better competition in this niche with Sprouts/Natural Grocers/Forward Foods/etc. Even Crest has some things to compete with. Not to mention the high quality Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds, which is FAR better than any other one in OKC (even OSU-OKC, only because OSU's tends to have more "stuff" than local food...watch those location tags). The more "hippie" (lol) world in Norman contributes to the market being open to the stuff, but keeps the overcharging companies like WF out because they know the residents wont pay for it.

I agree completely. Sometimes I walk into Whole Foods and just can't believe the cost of a lot of it. I get paying more for a better experience and all that, but damn, some of it is just ridiculous.

[metro]

I agree completely. Sometimes I walk into Whole Foods and just can't believe the cost of a lot of it. I get paying more for a better experience and all that, but damn, some of it is just ridiculous.

It's not just experience, the FOOD QUALITY is SOOOOO much better than your average grocer, including the other organic alternatives like Sprouts. You get what you pay for.

[soonerguru]

My only gripe with Whole Foods is their mark-up. The place is great and all, but they spend so much on "flash" and they add so much onto prices....because they can because of who they target. I can find the same EXACT products at other places in town, like Sprouts, for a much lower cost. So it's not as though they are being forced to charge the higher amount just because its organic. Organic has a higher price anyway, but WF just goes above and beyond on their prices.

In Norman, you get the benefit of a lot better competition in this niche with Sprouts/Natural Grocers/Forward Foods/etc. Even Crest has some things to compete with. Not to mention the high quality Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds, which is FAR better than any other one in OKC (even OSU-OKC, only because OSU's tends to have more "stuff" than local food...watch those location tags). The more "hippie" (lol) world in Norman contributes to the market being open to the stuff, but keeps the overcharging companies like WF out because they know the residents wont pay for it.

Maybe, MAYBE, some of the produce is similar (although Sprouts has very little organic produce for sale), but the meat and seafood at Whole Foods are on a level that Sprouts or no one else in the metro can begin to match. I feel 100% confident of the seafood and meat I purchase at Whole Foods. I have stopped purchasing seafood from any other store -- and for good reason (Google it, I don't have time to explain it to you). Also, the in-house products Whole Foods creates in store are better. The flowers are better. The bakery is better. It's better in just about every way, and if you think you can find food that is as good as that at Sprouts, I don't know what i can say.

Whole Foods and Sprouts are completely different stores, with different standards of products. Whole Foods is better in every way, and it's not close.

[bchris02]

The way I look at it is if you are that price conscious, Whole Foods doesn't expect your business to begin with. Their business model is working very well, even in a place like OKC which is more price conscious than most cities. Some people are willing to pay more for better quality, selection, and yes the status of being a Whole Foods shopper.

[MadMonk]

The way I look at it is if you are that price conscious, Whole Foods doesn't expect your business to begin with. Their business model is working very well, even in a place like OKC which is more price conscious than most cities. Some people are willing to pay more for better quality, selection, and yes the status of being a Whole Foods shopper.

You can't put a price on that feeling of superiority over mere mortal shoppers.

[soonerguru]

For me, status is silly and irrelevant. I want to put good food in my body with minimal processing, no hormones, no pesticides, etc. if you are careful, you can stretch your dollar at Whole Foods -- mainly by only purchasing what you need. Bulk shopping is wasteful.

[HangryHippo]

The way I look at it is if you are that price conscious, Whole Foods doesn't expect your business to begin with. Their business model is working very well, even in a place like OKC which is more price conscious than most cities. Some people are willing to pay more for better quality, selection, and yes the status of being a Whole Foods shopper.

That's really stupid. And people ought to be embarrassed if that's the only reason they shop there.