Whole Foods Market Inc

Amid some recent stores closing, many customers want to know if Whole Foods is going out of business. Here's what we know about the company.

Whole Foods has been in the news for shutting down some of its stores. Is Whole Foods a publicly-traded company and does it have stock?

Whole Foods Market reported a 1.9% year-over-year (or YoY) increase in its top line, primarily driven by new store openings.

Wall Street analysts predicted a 13.3% YoY rise in Kroger’s earnings in 3Q16, going to $0.39 from $0.35 in 3Q15. Sales for fiscal 1H16 stood at $58.5 billion.

In this part of the series, we’ll conduct a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) analysis for The Fresh Market (TFM).

Developed by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter, Porter’s Five Forces Model is used for assessing the nature of competition and attractiveness of an industry.

Competitive rivalry is extremely strong in the organic and natural food industry. More companies are entering and expanding their presence in the industry.

While Whole Foods Market is struggling at the hands of giants like Kroger and Wal-Mart, Sprouts has been growing steadily in same-store sales and margins.

On a YTD (year-to-date) basis, Amazon has returned nearly 40% as of November 3, 2017.

Costco’s suppliers include companies like PepsiCo (PEP), Procter & Gamble (PG), and the Kraft Heinz Company (KHC). No single supplier accounts for over 5% of revenue.

Whole Foods Market (WFM) has returned nearly 40% on a year-to-date basis as of June 20, 2017.

Supercenters are more likely to double as fulfillment centers as Walmart widens its omni-channel capabilities. They are likely to provide the company with economies of distribution.

Margins in the food and staples (XLP) retail segment are slender. It’s important for Walmart (WMT) to keep a tight grip on the cost structure.

Amazon sold bonds to finance Whole Foods acquisition On August 15, Amazon (AMZN) sold $16 billion in bonds to fund its acquisition of Whole Foods (WFM). The bonds were met with robust demand from investors, as the tech giant rarely visits the bond market. Amazon is taking advantage of a good borrowing environment. Amazon’s bond sale is the […]

SFM’s top line is expected to grow 13%–14% based on its sales comp growth of 1.5%–2.0% and 32 new store openings.

Phoenix, Arizona–based Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) reported its 2Q17 results on August 3. Total sales for SFM increased 15% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, $17.0 million more than consensus estimates.

News of the Whole Foods acquisition has already given Amazon a boost, pushing its stock up 2.4% and adding $11.0 billion to its market cap, which nearly pays for the $13.7 billion deal.

Kroger (KR) has done reasonably well lately, having survived an intensely competitive retailing environment over the past few years.

After falling around 30% in 2016, Supervalu’s (SVU) stock continues to be in the red in 2017.

Despite the slowdown, Sprouts Farmers Market continues to display better margins compared to Kroger (KR) and Supervalu (SVU).

Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) reported its 3Q16 results on November 3, 2016. The results relate to the three-month period ending October 2, 2016.

Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) is slated to release its 3Q16 results on Thursday, November 3, 2016, before the market opens. Wall Street is expecting a fall of 19.0% in EPS.

Sprouts Farmers Market has displayed industry-leading earnings growth in the past few years.

Of the 18 analysts who have rated SFM, 12 have recommended a “buy,” and 6 have recommended a “hold.” None of the analysts have a “sell” rating on the stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) reported results for fiscal 2Q16 on August 4, 2016. The value-oriented organic and natural food retailer reported a 14% year-over-year increase in adjusted diluted EPS, beating the consensus by 1 cent.

SuperValu’s stock is currently trading at $5.36, which is 42% below its 52-week high.

Let’s discuss Smart & Final Stores’ (SFS) main strategies regarding pricing, private labels, expansion, distribution, and merchandising.

Whole Foods Market (WFM) is likely to see a slowdown in its top line during fiscal 2016. The organic and natural foods retailer could register sales growth of 3%–5%, according to the company’s guidance.

The transaction value of the deal between Apollo and The Fresh Market stands at $1,334 million. Apollo is paying 7.9x the EBITDA.

Compared with other food retail chains, The Fresh Market’s performance in terms of profitability has been best-in-class.

The US food retail industry comprises of store formats that range from small grocery shops and convenience stores to large supermarkets and club stores.

The Fresh Market believes that it can achieve better returns by expanding in markets within or closer to its existing markets.

As of October 25, 2015, The Fresh Market had 180 stores across 27 states.

Whole Foods has developed the 365 format in order to compete with value-based organic food retailers like Trader Joes and mainstream retailers Wal-Mart.

With the increasing focus on health and wellness, the organic food channel has grown at more than twice the pace of the conventional food channel.

Sprouts has been expanding its private label menu by introducing new and innovative products. As of 3Q15, it offered more than 1,700 private-label items.

Conventional supermarkets make up 65%, grocery and mass merchandisers make up 25%, and natural and gourmet make up 6% of the supermarket industry’s sales.

Sprouts is a value player in the organic grocery sector, selling groceries at competitive prices from small-box stores averaging 28,000–30,000 square feet.

It’s important for investors to understand SUPERVALU’s current strengths and weaknesses as well as its potential opportunities and threats.

Whole Foods’ net margin was among the highest in its peer group in fiscal 2015. The 12-month trailing net margin for Whole Foods stood at 3.5%.

Whole Foods’ sales for fiscal 2015 earned $15.3 billion—a 8.4% rise over the previous fiscal year, and a 9.6% average rise over the past three fiscal years.

Whole Foods has only trailed Costco in per-foot sales metrics. Costco averaged more than $1100 between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2015.

Organic products are no longer available solely at farmers’ markets and specialty stores but are now available at local and traditional grocery stores.

Whole Foods spends less on advertising and marketing than conventional supermarkets, relying on word-of-mouth recommendations and customer testimonials.

With 433 stores across the US, Canada, and the UK as of September 2015, Whole Foods has long been considered a synonym for organic and healthy food.

We will do a SWOT analysis for Kroger (KR) and look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the company.

Kroger (KR) is a well-established player in the natural foods market. The company offers over 15,000 natural and organic food items.

Kroger’s (KR) revenue reached an all-time high of $108 billion in fiscal 2015, which ended January 31, 2015, up by 10.3% from fiscal 2014.

In 2013, grocery stores accounted for 90% of the country’s food and beverage store sales, while supermarkets accounted for 95% of the total grocery store sales.

The Kroger Co. (KR) is the largest supermarket chain in the US by revenue, operating 2,625 supermarkets at the end of fiscal 2015, which ended January 31, 2015.