Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

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lola42
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Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

Post by lola42 »

The Bay Area's first 365 opened in Concord this week. Interesting their entry into the market isn't a more tech or millennial trade area like Cupertino or Palo Alto.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article ... 404572.php
Alpha8472
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Re: Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

Post by Alpha8472 »

The 365 concept is a test. Will this 365 store make more money or will a regular Whole Foods make more money?

The Techies are rich and will pay high prices, so the 365 stores are for areas where there are lower incomes.

I still think this concept is not going to be profitable. Whole Foods is all about gouging people. Rich customers willingly pay for it. This store is in a middle class area and there are enough people to support a full priced Whole Foods. If this store is not profitable it can easily be converted to a regular Whole Foods.
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Re: Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

Post by pseudo3d »

Alpha8472 wrote: December 9th, 2017, 2:55 pm The 365 concept is a test. Will this 365 store make more money or will a regular Whole Foods make more money?

The Techies are rich and will pay high prices, so the 365 stores are for areas where there are lower incomes.

I still think this concept is not going to be profitable. Whole Foods is all about gouging people. Rich customers willingly pay for it. This store is in a middle class area and there are enough people to support a full priced Whole Foods. If this store is not profitable it can easily be converted to a regular Whole Foods.
This store was probably planned way ahead of the Amazon purchase, and already is a doomed concept. The 365 stores were created by WFM because as a publicly traded company they were being backed into the corner by investors nipping at their heels. But now with Amazon, that's not a problem anymore as they don't have to directly face the pressures of investors and have a lot more money to do things with. The store will probably end up converting to a normal Whole Foods Market, and the remaining 365 stores will "convert or die", unless Amazon wanted to use the 365 stores as a new (non-WFM) grocery concept.
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Re: Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

Post by Alpha8472 »

I visited the store and I was pleasantly surprised. The prices were reasonable and probably a very good competitor to the local Safeway stores. The selection was limited to mostly natural and organic products. You won't find unhealthy brands here.

However, the prices on conventional produce are reasonable.

The organic products are less than regular Whole Foods, but probably higher than Trader Joe's.
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Re: Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

Post by J-Man »

I just noticed another Whole Foods 365 under construction in Upland, just south of the 210 freeway and just east of the LA County Line. I always wondered why there was no traditional Whole Foods in that area, as Claremont is a fairly upscale college town, so maybe this will fill that gap. They have two traditional stores in Pasadena, but nothing else going east until you're all the way to Palm Desert.
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Re: Whole Foods 365 in Concord (Grand Opening)

Post by CalItalian »

Alpha8472 wrote: December 9th, 2017, 2:55 pm The 365 concept is a test. Will this 365 store make more money or will a regular Whole Foods make more money?

The Techies are rich and will pay high prices, so the 365 stores are for areas where there are lower incomes.

I still think this concept is not going to be profitable. Whole Foods is all about gouging people. Rich customers willingly pay for it. This store is in a middle class area and there are enough people to support a full priced Whole Foods. If this store is not profitable it can easily be converted to a regular Whole Foods.
The original 365 in Silver Lake is in a very high priced area. Silver Lake has some of the highest rents in Los Angeles and there is hardly a home under $1 million. It has been doing fantastic business but prices have gone up quite a bit since they opened.
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