Whole Foods

Whole Food Market

Background

According to the Whole Foods, Inc. Annual 10k Report (2009) Whole Foods Market is the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first national Certified Organic grocer. Our Company mission is to promote the vitality and well-being of all individuals by supplying the highest quality, most wholesome foods available. Since the purity of our food and the health of our bodies are directly related to the purity and health of our environment, our core mission is devoted to the promotion of organically grown foods, food safety concerns, and the sustainability of our entire ecosystem. We opened our first store in, Texas in 1980 and completed our initial public offering in January 1992. As of September 27, 2009, we operated 284 stores: 273 stores in 38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia; six

stores in Canada; and five stores in the United Kingdom.

Our sales have grown rapidly through new store openings, acquisitions and comparable store sales growth, from approximately $92 million in fiscal year 1991, to approximately $8.0 billion in fiscal year 2009, a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 28%. We are a Fortune 500 company, ranking number 324 on the 2009 list. Our 284 stores average approximately 37,000 square feet in size, approximately $29 million in annual sales, and are approximately nine years old on average. We aspire to become an international brand synonymous with not just natural and organic foods, but also with being the best food retailer in every community in which we are located. We believe our heavy emphasis on perishables and locally grown products, along with our unparalleled customer service, is helping us reach that goal, differentiating our stores from other supermarkets and enabling us to attract a broad base of loyal customers.

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Whole foods which...