Whole Foods Profits Fall Like an Organic Apple From the Tree

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Nov 6, 2006 8:03PM

We always like it when stories that are only moderately interesting are set up for an amusing headline. Take, for example, Wall Street Sours on Whole Foods, or Whole Foods Ripe For A Change?

The Trib went for a more subtle pun, running Investors Shred Whole Foods.

What’s with all the puns? Austin-based grocery behemoth Whole Foods warned of slower than expected growth, causing its stock price to plummet over 20% on Friday. In a press release, Whole Foods Chairman, CEO, and co-founder John P. Mackey said "fiscal 2007 will be a transition year for us." Though Whole Foods is still raking in the dough -- revenue rose to $1.29 billion from $1.12 billion -- revenue fell short of estimates of $1.32 billion. $1.29 billion is a lot of honey sesame chicken wings (one of Chicagoist's favorite items).

The Trib article didn't mention what slower growth means for "Whole Paycheck"'s plans to move into the South Loop. The good news for South Loopers who want a Whole Foods is that its fiscal fourth-quarter same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 8.6%. Which means that the stores are still making money, just not as much as when same-store growth was over 13%. At this point, we are going to say that when it comes to the South Loop store, no news is good news. Those interested in looking for clues about the South Loop store can check out Mackey's blog.