It was widely reported last week that Whole Foods plans to launch a new value-focused format that will be “unlike anything that currently exists in the marketplace,” according to Co-CEO Walter Robb.
Robb added that the company has already begun negotiating leases, is building a team to focus exclusively on the new concept, and expects a fairly rapid expansion.
According to Co-CEO John Mackey, “We think a streamlined, hip, cool, technology-oriented store that has lower capital, perhaps a little less labor cost and lower prices is going to be very, very attractive to that millennial generation, though it will still have the Whole Foods quality standards.”
Later in the call, the company reported that average weekly store sales are exceeding $720,000, and that stores are still highly profitable and producing strong returns on invested capital.