1980, john mackey and two partners opened the first whole foods organic food store in Austin. This shop attaches great importance to the purity of its products, and the price is also very expensive. I didn't expect many customers, and the response was very enthusiastic. In the first year, this small shop sold 4 million dollars of natural products and organic food.
Subsequently, McKee began to expand its scale, and its sales scope also expanded to provide food without chemical components and preservatives, organic food, meat without hormones, cosmetics without side effects, and more environmentally friendly household items. In 1990s, under the influence of American "family food tide", Whole Foods Supermarket won a large scale and a broad market.
Bill Bishop, a retail analyst, said: "What people are really looking for is a mother who can tell them what is the healthiest to eat, and Whole Foods has taken on this responsibility."
Total Foods has now developed into the largest natural food supplier in the world. In the past five years, the retail sales in the United States increased by 65,438+03%, while the annual growth rate of total food reached more than 65,438+04%. The profit margin of this retail supermarket is as high as 26%. For a supermarket like Wal-Mart, it is unthinkable to attract customers at low prices.
Incredibly, although the prices of delicious food such as organic food and natural food sold by Whole Foods Supermarket are 40% ~ 175% higher than those of ordinary supermarkets, consumers are still rushing.
In addition to paying attention to health, environmental protection and food safety, some analysts say that Whole Foods sells a new lifestyle and stands out from the differentiated competition. Its maverick business model makes loyal consumers regard it as the "Apple Computer" in the food retail field.