Whole Foods is losing at its own game (WFM)

pulse

March 23, 2017 4:31 PM

Whole Foods is facing more competition from grocery rivals who are offering more organic produce.

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It wasn't too long ago that John Mackey was considered a pioneer.

The Whole Foods CEO was at the forefront of a new movement in organic produce when he opened his first store in 1980 and went on to create the largest organic supermarket chain in the US.

But today it's a very different story for Whole Foods.

"While Whole Foods has done so much to inspire, create, and revolutionize the market for natural and organic products, we now see it being the victim of its own success," UBS wrote in a research note published on Wednesday.

Though demand is still there –

Many of Whole Foods' competitors offer similar goods but at cheaper prices. UBS found that prices at Whole Foods stores in the Los Angeles area were on average 13% higher than prices at Kroger and Sprouts Farmers Market.

To compete with the ongoing pricing pressure, Whole Foods launched a new chain of stores

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