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Whole Foods (WFMI) just gobbled up Wild Oats.

Whole Foods Makes Offer for a Smaller Rival- New York Times, NY

....Mr. Mackey — noting that Whole Foods has made 18 previous acquisitions, including Fresh Fields and Bread & Circus — said that the companies would save money by eliminating corporate duplication and that Whole Foods would gain access to markets where it is now weak, particularly the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain region and Florida.

Wild Oats, though, is the biggest acquisition yet for Whole Foods. Started in Boulder, Colo., in 1987, it has 110 stores in 24 states and in British Columbia and $1.2 billion in annual sales. By contrast, Whole Foods, which was started in 1980 in Austin, Tex., has 193 stores in the United States, Canada and Britain and had sales of $5.6 billion in 2006.

“We think we are going to have a very positive impact on Wild Oats, and we think they will have a positive impact on Whole Foods,” Mr. Mackey said. “We need each other.”

• Whole Foods to acquire Wild Oats - Bizjournals.com
• Whole Foods To Merge With Wild Oats - TheDenverChannel.com,
  
• Whole Foods Swallowing Rival - Forbes, NY

It's Store Wars!

Labels: Rancho Burbank, Supermarkets, Whole Foods, Wild Oats