Whole Foods Market Profile

1. Whole Foods Market Inc.
550 Bowie St.
Austin, TX 78703,
United States
Phone: 512-477-4455
Fax: 512-482-7000
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com
Incorporated in Texas
Stores in 38 US states and Canada. California alone has sixty stores, with the total
number of stores at 299
2010 Sales: % of Total
Grocery: 33
Prepared Foods: 19
Other Perishables: 48
Whole Foods Markets
Selected Product Categories:
Bakery
Body care
Educational products
Floral
Grocery
Household products
Meat and poultry
Nutritional supplements
Pet products
Prepared foods
Produce
Seafood
Specialty (beer, wine, cheese)
Textiles
MorningStar
Whole Foods closed out fiscal 2010 on a strong note, and positive momentum is on
its side. Comparable-store sales growth increased 7.1% last fiscal year, and
operating margin improved 1.4 percentage points. The bounceback was much
stronger than we anticipated, and we believe this speaks to the firm's knack for

2. innovation and brand strength. However, we believe delivering consistent results
will be difficult for the firm even as the domestic economy recovers.
Whole Foods Market is the largest U.S. retailer of natural and organic foods. The firm
operates about 300 stores in the United States, Canada, and England. The stores sell
high-grade conventional and organically grown produce and grocery products;
environmentally safe household items; meat, poultry, and seafood free of growth
hormones and antibiotics; bakery goods and takeout meals; and vitamins,
homeopathic remedies, and body-care products.
Hoovers:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com
With food and other items that are free of pesticides, preservatives, sweeteners, and cruelty, Whole Foods
Market knows more about guiltless eating and shopping than most retailers. The world's #1 natural foods
chain by far -- now that it has digested its main rival Wild Oats Markets -- the company operates about 300
stores in 38 US states, as well as in Canada and the UK. The stores emphasize perishable products, which
account for about two-thirds of sales. Whole Foods Market offers some 2,200 items in four lines of private-
label products (such as the premium Whole Foods line). Founded in Austin, Texas, in 1980, Whole
Foods Market pioneered the supermarket concept in natural and organic foods retailing.
Bulls Say
MORNING STAR
Whole Foods possesses a strong brand that resonates with consumers not only seeking a high-quality
shopping experience, but also desiring stores that deliver on demands for health and wellness, premium
fresh foods, and environmental friendliness.
Even with the less productive Wild Oats stores and weak same-store sales, Whole Foods generated around
$760 in sales per square foot in 2009, significantly higher than that of the average supermarket.
According to Natural Foods Merchandiser, sales of organic products increased 17.1% from 2007 to 2008.
Whole Foods has plenty of room remaining to grow as it improves its density in large markets and expands
further into secondary markets.
Read Less
Bears Say
Whole Foods has a much wider customer base than it had during past economic downturns, and its top line
is proving to be much more sensitive to economic conditions.
Unlike low-price leaders such as Wal-Mart WMT, Whole Foods dominates because of its brand image,
which is trickier to manage and less impervious to competitive threats.
The company has a high-price image among some consumers that may limit its long-term growth potential.
Conventional grocery chains such as Safeway SWY have remodeled stores at a rapid clip and attempted to
narrow the gap with premium grocers like Whole Foodsin terms of shopping experience, product quality,
and selection of takeout foods.
In August 2007 Whole Foods acquired its main competitor -- Boulder, Colorado-based Wild Oats Markets
-- in a deal valued at about $565 million (plus $106 million in debt). In early October the company sold 35

3. Henry's Farmers Market and Sun Harvest stores to a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Smart & Final for
about $166 million. The stores, in California and Texas, were acquired with Wild Oats.
The company launched a bi-monthly magazine called Whole Foods Market Magazine at its midwestern
stores in 2008. On the heels of its disappointing third-quarter results in August 2008, shares of the
company's stock fell to a six-year low and Whole Foods suspended its dividend. Blaming the poor
economy, the company announced the layoffs of some 50 employees at its Austin headquarters in August
2008. Overall, in fiscal 2008 the company introduced about 300 new private-label items.
For the first time in its 29-year history, Whole Foods reported negative same-store sales in the quarter
ended December 2008 as traffic in its stores fell.
In March 2009 the company reached a settlement in its long-running dispute with the FTC over its
acquisition of Wild Oats in 2007. Whole Foods agreed to sell 32 stores, including 19 Wild Oats locations
that had already been closed. In exchange, the FTC dropped its crusade to undo the merger. In December
2009 John Elstrott was named chairman of Whole Foods Market after Mackey voluntarily relinquished the
chairmanship, which he had held since 1980. In May 2010 Walter Robb, formerly co-president of
the company, was promoted to co-CEO of Whole Foods, a title he now shares with Mackey.
In another move to put its troubles behind it, in late 2009 Whole Foods' enigmatic founder, vegan-capitalist
John Mackey, voluntarily relinquished the chairman's title to lead director John Elstrott. (The move came
about two years after the company's shareholders proposed splitting the offices of chairman and CEO.) In
May 2010, the board promoted Walter Robb to co-CEO, a job he now shares with Mackey. By stepping
down as chairman, Mackey put a difficult and embarrassing chapter in his company's history behind it,
including an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over his use of a fake online
identity and a battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the Wild Oats takeover.
Green Equity Investors owns about 10% of Whole Foods Market.
Amounts are as of Dec 31, 2010 and compensation values are for the last fiscal year ending on that date. Pay is salary, bonuses,
etc.Exercised is the value of options exercised during the fiscal year.Currency in USD.
Mr. John P. Mackey , 58
Co-Founder, Co-Chief Exec. Officer and Director 45.00K 77.00K
Mr. Walter Robb , 57
Co-Chief Exec. Officer and Director751.00K 95.00K
Mr. A. C. Gallo , 58
Pres and Chief Operating Officer 751.00K 139.00K
Associated NAICS Codes
445210 Meat Markets
445220 Fish and Seafood Markets
445230 Fruit and Vegetable Markets
445291 Baked Goods Stores
445292 Confectionery and Nut Stores
445299 All Other Specialty Food Stores
Associated SIC Codes
Help
5421 Meat and fish markets
5431 Fruit and vegetable markets
5441 Candy, nut, and confectionery stores
5451 Dairy products stores
5461 Retail bakeries

4. NAICS Codes
Help
445230 Fruit and Vegetable Markets
445299 All Other Specialty Food Stores (primary)
US SIC Codes
Help
54110000 Grocery stores (primary)
The US retail grocery industry includes about 65,000 supermarkets and other
grocery stores with combined annual revenue of about $470 billion. Major
companies include Kroger, Safeway, and SUPERVALU as well as Ahold, the US
division of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold. The industry is concentrated: the 50
largest companies generate about 70 percent of revenue.
What are the company's biggest cost-savings opportunities in the supply chain?
Because grocery retailing is generally a high volume/low margin business, effective supply chain
management is key to keeping costs low.
Who are the company's most important suppliers?
While large companies buy directly from manufacturers, small chains and independent retailers
rely on wholesalers. Depending on product mix, companies may buy from many distributors and
use food brokers.
What trade programs have been the most effective for the company?
Volume discounts allow big chains to keep prices low. Manufacturers typically offer additional
trade funds, which allow grocery stores to discount or promote certain products without sacrificing
margins.
Competition from Alternative Retailers — As alternative retailers realized the
traffic-driving power of food sales, the competitive set for grocery stores expanded
and the battle over food dollars became more intense. By buying in enormous
volume, mass merchandisers and warehouse clubs have become low price leaders:
Wal-Mart is the largest food retailer in the US and holds an estimated 30 percent of
the grocery market, according to Janney Capital Markets. In addition, time-starved
consumers are spending a greater percentage of food dollars away from home at
restaurants. Take-out food has helped restaurants cut into grocery stores' share of
the food market.
S&P
Whole Foods Market
21-Oct-11• Nasdaq National Market Symbol WFM•In S&P 500
Business Summary
CORPORATE OVERVIEW. Whole Foods Market, established in 1980, has grown into the largest U.S.
retailer of natural and organic foods, with $9.0 billion in sales in FY 10 (Sep.). Reflecting a series of store
openings and acquisitions, the company has expanded from a single Austin, TX, store in 1980 to a chain of
about 300 stores in 37 states plus Washington, DC, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company strives
to differentiate its stores from those of its competitors by tailoring its product mix, customer service attitude
and store environment to appeal to health conscious and gourmet customers.
CORPORATE STRATEGY. The company opens or acquires stores in existing regions, and in metropolitan
areas in which it believes it can become the leading natural foods supermarket retailer. In developing new

5. stores, WFM's seeks to open large format units of 35,000 sq. ft. to 50,000 sq. ft., located on premium sites,
often in urban, highly populated areas. Although approximately 30% of its store base consists of acquired
stores, the company expects more of its future growth to come from developing new stores. As of
December 2010, WFM's had signed leases for 56 stores averaging approximately 37,800 square feet in size,
which is about 0.3% larger than its existing store base average. It operated about 11.4 million square feet of
retail space, and had about 2.1 million square feet (18.7% of existing sq. ft.) of retail space under
development at December 2010.
Stores average about 37,600 sq. ft., and offer a selection of some 30,000 food and non-food products. Each
store contributes an average of almost $31 million in annual sales and averages about 8.1 years old.
Products sold include natural and organic foods and beverages; dietary supplements; natural personal care
products; natural household goods; and educational products. Natural foods can be defined as foods that are
minimally processed, largely or completely free of artificial ingredients, preservatives and other non-
naturally occurring chemicals, and as near as possible to their whole, natural state. Organic foods are based
on the minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance the
ecology.
Hoovers: Top Competitors:
Company/Gross Revenue/ Net Profit Margin/ Net Operating Cash Flow
Whole Foods: 9,005.79 Millions 3.30%
Kroger: 82,189.oo M 1.37%
Safeway 41,050.00 M 1.44%
Trader Joe’s – Privately Owned:
Hoover's>
Trader Joe's>
Company Overview
X
Trader Joe's Company
Monrovia, CA United States
This company is covered by Alexandra Biesada. (bio)
Company Description
800 S. Shamrock Ave.
Monrovia,CA 91016,
United States
Phone: 626-599-3700
Fax: 626-301-4431
http://www.traderjoes.com
When it comes to grocery chains, Trader Joe's isn't your average Joe. With about 350 stores in some 25
states, the company offers upscale grocery fare such as health foods, organic produce, and nutritional
supplements. To keep costs down, its stores have no service departments and average about 10,000-15,000
sq. ft. The company's specialty is its line of more than 2,000 private-label products (70% of sales),
including beverages (its signature Charles Shaw brand wine sells for $2 a bottle), soup, snacks, and frozen
items. Started by Joe Coulombe as a Los Angeles convenience store chain in 1958, the company was
bought in 1979 by German billionaires Karl and Theo Albrecht, who founded the ALDI food chain.
The US specialty food store industry includes about 25,000 stores with combined
annual revenue of $20 billion. Major companies include Whole Foods Market and

6. Trader Joe's. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies account for 15
percent of sales.
Hoovers:
Basic Financial Information
Public
Company Type NASDAQ: WFM
Headquarters
Fiscal Year-End September
Financial Filings SEC
2010 Sales $9.01B
1-Year Sales Growth 12.13%
2010 Net Income $245.83M
1-Year Net Income Growth 67.46%
Prescreen Score Low Risk
Auditor Ernst & Young LLP
Whole Foods .com
Mergers/Acquisitions:
Whole Foods Market
Whole Food Company
Wellspring Grocery
Bread & Circus
Mrs. Gooch's
Fresh Fields
Bread of Life
Amrion
Merchant of Vino
Allegro Coffee
WholePeople.com (e-commerce subsidiary)
Nature's Heartland
Food for Thought
Harry's Farmers Market
Select Fish
Fresh & Wild
Wild Oats© Markets
From 2010 Annual SEC filing 10k
We have one operating segment, natural and organic foods supermarkets. As of September 26, 2010 we
operated 299 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our stores average 37,600
square feet in size and nine years in age, and are supported by our Austin headquarters, regional offices,
distribution centers, bakehouse facilities, commissary
Products

7. We offer a broad and differentiated selection of high-quality natural and organic products with a strong
emphasis on perishable foods. Our product selection includes, but is not limited to: produce, seafood,
grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, specialty (beer, wine and cheese),
coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, vitamins, body care and educational products such as books,
floral, pet products and household products. We estimate our stores carry on average approximately
20,500 SKUs.
kitchens, seafood-processing facilities, meat and produce procurement centers, and a specialty coffee,
tea brewing operation.
Our Quality Standards
We aspire to become an international brand synonymous with not just natural and organic foods, but
also with being the highest quality food retailer in every community in which we are located. We
believe our strict quality standards differentiate our stores from other supermarkets and enable us to
attract and maintain a broad base of loyal customers.
Store Brands
Our store brands currently feature approximately 2,200 SKUs led by our primary brands, 365 Everyday
Value and 365 Organic. While some of our store brands yield greater margins than their national brand
alternative, their primary purpose is to help differentiate our product selection and provide more value
offerings to our customers. In addition to our nationally driven programs, we have a number of store-
made and regionally made fresh items sold under the Whole Foods Market label; we offer specialty and
organic coffee, tea and drinking chocolates through our Allegro Coffee Company subsidiary, and we
have developed a grouping of “exclusive” and “control brand” products to fill out our family of brands.
Total sales of store- branded products across all categories were approximately 11% of our retail sales
in both fiscal years 2010 and 2009.
Seasonality
The Company’s average weekly sales are typically highest in the second and third fiscal quarters and lowest in
the fourth fiscal quarter. Gross profit is typically lower in the first fiscal quarter due to the product mix of holiday
sales, and in the fourth fiscal quarter due to the seasonally slower sales period during the summer months.
Growth Strategy
We are a Fortune 500 company, ranking number 284 on the 2010 list. Our sales have grown rapidly due
to historically high identical store sales growth, acquisitions, and new store openings from
approximately $92.5 million in fiscal year 1991, excluding the effect of pooling-of-interests
transactions completed since 1991, to approximately $9.01 billion in fiscal year 2010, a compounded
annual growth rate of approximately 27%.
Economic Conditions
The global economic crisis adversely impacted our business and financial results in fiscal year 2009.
Our results of operations may be materially impacted by changes in overall economic conditions that
impact consumer confidence and spending, including discretionary spending. There can be no
assurance that various governmental activities to stabilize the markets and stimulate the economy will
restore consumer confidence or change spending habits. Future economic conditions affecting
disposable consumer income such as employment levels, business conditions, changes in housing
market conditions, the availability of credit, interest rates, tax rates, fuel and energy costs, the impact of
natural disasters or acts of terrorism, and other matters could reduce consumer spending or cause
consumers to shift their spending to lower-priced competitors.
Competitive Environment
Our competitors include but are not limited to local, regional, national and international supermarkets,
natural food stores, warehouse membership clubs, small specialty stores and restaurants. Their
businesses compete with us for products, customers and locations. In addition, some are expanding
more aggressively in marketing a range of natural and organic foods. Some of these potential
competitors may have been in business longer or may have greater financial or marketing resources
than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to sourcing, promoting and selling their
products. As competition in certain areas intensifies, our results of operations may be negatively
impacted through a loss of sales, reduction in margin from competitive price changes, and/or greater
operating costs such as marketing.

8. Discrepency between S & P, Hoovers, Morning Star who say that the ticker is WFM,
While the webiste says that it’s WFMI
5 Yr S& P chart
Investment Rationale/Risk August 01, 2011 more >
Joseph Agnese
Food Retail
We believe the adoption of a new pricing strategy, increased lower-priced (value) product
offerings, and the re-acceleration of square footage expansion in an improving economic
environment will lead to above-average industry sales growth levels in FY 11 and beyond. Longer
term, we expect the company to utilize free cash flow to pay off remaining debt.
Risks to our recommendation and target price include lower-than-expected comparable-store sales
growth on weaker-than-expected consumer demand and a slowdown in economic growth, with
particular weakness for high-income individuals.
Analyst's Highlights more >
Joseph Agnese
Food Retail
We expect FY 12 (Sep.) sales to increase 14% to $11.5 billion, from our estimate of $10.1 billion
in FY 11, reflecting square footage growth of 7.5% from the opening of up to 25 net new stores,
and as an increased selection of low-priced products and food inflation result in a comparable-

9. store sales advance of about 8.5%. We look for comparable-store sales to continue to be driven
primarily by greater traffic due to favorable industry demand for natural and organic foods and as
increased value offerings lure lower-income shoppers to stores.
We believe margins will expand in FY 11 and FY 12, reflecting increased operating leverage and
distribution efficiencies, despite our projection for a rise in new store opening costs as the
company re-accelerates new store expansion. We see improved inventory management leading to
lower shrink expense and contributing to increased labor productivity. We expect net interest
income to rise in FY 11 and FY 12 due to the elimination of long-term debt and increased
investment income.
We project that FY 12 EPS will increase 17%, to $2.25, from our estimate of $1.92 in FY 11.
Investment Rationale/Risk August 01, 2011
We believe the adoption of a new pricing strategy, increased lower-priced (value) product
offerings, and the re-acceleration of square footage expansion in an improving economic
environment will lead to above-average industry sales growth levels in FY 11 and beyond. Longer
term, we expect the company to utilize free cash flow to pay off remaining debt.
Risks to our recommendation and target price include lower-than-expected comparable-store sales
growth on weaker-than-expected consumer demand and a slowdown in economic growth, with
particular weakness for high-income individuals.
Due to a stronger-than-expected rebound in comparable-store sales results in the first nine months
of FY 11, we believe the stock should trade about in line with its seven-year historical P/E
multiple of 33.5X. This P/E multiple is 2.4X the P/E multiple we project for the S&P 500,
representing a 15% premium to its seven-year average premium of 2.1X. Applying a 33.5X
multiple to our FY 12 EPS estimate of $2.25 results in a share value of $75, which is our 12-
month target price.
INDUSTRY
We think acceleration in food price inflation in 2011 may adversely affect margins
as consumers trade down and become increasingly sensitive to buying on
promotion to avoid higher prices. However, given only a moderate level of inflation
through the first half of 2011, we believe an improved economic environment
resulted in improved transaction sizes and led to a reduction in pricing competition.
Best positioned retailers include those who cater to high income and low income
demographics, in our opinion. Consumer spending from higher income customers
has remained at elevated levels in 2011. Additionally, discount retailers have
benefited from increased traffic as consumers trade down from traditional retailers.
Financials from S & P 2010-2005
LT Debt 508 739 929 736 8.6 12.9
Total Cap. 2,882 2,780 2,435 2,195 1,413 1,379
Total Assets 3,987 3,783 3,381 3,213 2,043 1,889
Net Inc. 246 147 115 183 204 136
Revenues (Million $) for Fiscal Year Ending Sep.
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
1Q 3,004 2,639 2,466 2,457 1,871 1,667 1,368
2Q 2,351 2,106 1,858 1,866 1,463 1,312 1,085

10. 3Q 2,400 2,163 1,878 1,841 1,514 1,338 1,133
4Q N/A 2,097 1,829 1,789 1,743 1,291 1,115
Year N/A 9,006 8,032 7,954 6,592 5,607 4,701
Earnings Per Share ( $) for Fiscal Year Ending Sep.
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
1Q E0.59 0.51 0.32 0.20 0.28 0.38
2Q E0.56 0.51 0.39 0.19 0.29 0.32
3Q E0.57 0.50 0.38 0.25 0.24 0.35
4Q E0.53 E0.41 0.33 0.20 0.01 0.24
Year E2.25 E1.92 1.43 0.85 0.82 1.29