Whole Foods to expand in Canada

Whole Foods Market’s co-Chief Executive Officer Walter Robb has recently talked on the company's plans to eventually increase the store count in Canada from currently ten to more than 30, the Motley Fool reports. Whole Foods has been operating in Canada for a dozen years and the planned expansion will boost its international presence and make the company be less dependent on sales in the USA.
 

At the end of September 2014, the company's international sales accounted for 3.3% of total revenues in financial year 2014. In its domestic market, Whole Foods is facing challenges from large and small players such as Wal-Mart, The Kroger Co., Trader Joe's, and Sprouts Farmers Market. The biggest potential threat is from Wal-Mart, which is aggressively looking to gain traction in the organic food segment with the help of lower prices and higher store count, according to the Motley Fool. The competition has already had an effect on Whole Foods.

In such a situation, Canada looks attractive as it's not only the company's oldest international market, but it's also a good growth opportunity. A report suggests that natural and organic food and beverage sales in Canada are expected to increase at an annual growth rate of more than 11% from 2014 to 2019. Overall, Whole Foods wants to cross the 500-store mark by 2017, and by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014, it had 401 outlets. The full article is available here.