Walter Robb
on
Whole Foods' Recession Lessons
We
realized in January or February of 2008 that we were too expensive, as people
perceived it. The price-value thing was not where we needed to be, and we
started losing business. Then you get to a question about what quality is worth
to you. We have the highest quality standards in the supermarket industry, bar
none. They are transparent. They are up there on the website. They’re years of
work. There is a cost to food that’s produced in that manner. If it’s worth it
to you, great. If it’s not, we understand. We are not all things to all people.
You can buy cheap pink slime if you want and you’ll pay less, but you’re going
to get what you get. So often people reduce the conversation to the simple
price, when in fact it’s a more complex, multidimensional conversation about
price and quality. We’ve brought prices down. And people are telling us at the
checkout stand. They notice the effort, and they appreciate it, and they’re
rewarding us with their business.
