The anticipation is officially ramping up, as the Whole Foods Market is now 10 days away from opening its new Silver Lake location — an extension of the brand that will have the distinction of being the inaugural edition of its more scaled down offering in organic goods, Whole Foods 365.
According to Patrick Bradley, Whole Foods’ president of the southern Pacific region, the new move will give Whole Foods a chance to get a foothold in “places where traditionally we wouldn’t go into. We’re going to go into cities where we’re not going into now.”
The 30,000 square foot stores (as opposed to the 45,000 square foot Whole Foods original counterparts), among other things, make it easier to set up shop in smaller, tighter spaces.
“It opens our canvas,” Bradley noted. “We needed another option to do different size stores.”
The new locations dovetail with Whole Foods’ attempts to gather in new customers, particularly of the price-minded variety who have recently seen their organic food spend diverted to Whole Foods’ lower-cost rivals in traditional grocery.
Bradley noted that Whole Foods has “significantly” dropped its prices, particularly in produce, to remain competitive in the space.
“The last few years we’ve been cannibalizing quite a bit,” Bradley said. “That’s our comp challenge right now.”
But it is a challenge they say they are meeting head-on, both with the new offering and with pair-ups with startup like Instacart that will deliver Whole Foods’ goods on demand (for a fee).
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