When Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) announced last year it was opening a store in downtown Detroit, the reaction was predictable: Whole Foods? In Detroit?
The move reflects a new direction for America’s largest purveyor of natural goods, according to Walter Robb, the chain’s co-chief executive officer.
“We’re accelerating growth,” Robb said in an interview at the company’s Austin, Texas, headquarters. “That’s going to take us places we have not been to before.”
As Whole Foods prepares to open the Detroit store in May, it’s planning to triple its store count to 1,000 and boost sales by opening locations in underserved areas and smaller markets. Whole Foods is just the latest grocer to see opportunity in so- called food deserts and other areas where finding fresh fruit and vegetables is a chore.
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