Right or wrong, Mackey's POV conflicts with the leanings of many Whole Foods patrons who reportedly tend to support the Obama approach. Quite the social media furor is underway. Over 20,000 Facebook members have pledged to boycott the chain. The debate has prompted a new forum on the Whole Food website with over 14,000 posts.
The image of the original hippy store used to illustrate the "values" page on the Whole Foods site paints an image that does not line-up with the viewpoint of the CEO. Shopping at Whole Foods (and paying the significant premiums involved) is an overt values statement for most customers.
In this transparent era it would seem that either Whole Foods needs to migrate to a less progressive values position or the CEO needs to recant or even possibly resign. The current "values dissonance" will only erode the Whole Foods brand and franchise.
What would you do if you were on the Whole Foods board of directors?
Posts
