After nearly two terrible years of slipping sales, the people running Whole Foods Market have decided to make some leadership changes to breathe new ideas into the company’s comeback strategy.
The management change was announced this week as the organic supermarket chain reported its latest earnings, marking the seventh straight quarter of shrinking sales growth at stores open longer than a year. The company said sales decreased by 2.6% from a year ago. That’s a foot-traffic problem—literally getting people to walk through the front door to make purchases.
To fix that problem, Whole Foods is taking several steps to try and fix that problem:
Investors on Wall Street seemed moderately pleased with the changes, as shares rose by 2.5% today following the announcement. The new initiatives—set against a dramatic backdrop in which activist investor group Jana Partners has started eying the company under a microscope—have inspired confidence that the supermarket chain will find more ways to appeal to consumers and regain its footing.
Still, fixing in-house problems won’t quell the roiling storm of heightened competition in Whole Foods’ own backyard. Once a bastion for Americans looking to buy organic foods and health products, behemoth competitors such as Kroger and Meijer have caught up and are offering cheaper prices. Also foreign discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl are looking to disrupt the market, as well, adding more pressure for brands across the grocery business prepare for a fight over consumer pocketbooks.
