Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., the natural-foods retailer that went public last year, may exceed its goal of opening 1,200 U.S. stores in the next decade and a half, the chain’s chief executive officer said.
“That was the low end, the most conservative estimate,” CEO Doug Sanders said in an interview at an Atlanta-area store that opens tomorrow, part of its growth in the Southeast. “We’re able to appeal to a much broader customer.”
Sprouts, which now has about 170 stores selling mostly natural and organic foods, has targeted traditional supermarkets such as Kroger Co. (KR:US) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT:US) by undercutting their produce prices by as much as 25 percent. The company also is competing with natural-food stores such as Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM:US) and Trader Joe’s Co., capitalizing on the growing appeal of less-processed groceries.
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