DENVER (AP) - Organic grocer Whole Foods Market Inc. said Thursday it plans
to add at least 200 jobs by 2010 as it renovates Boulder-area stores acquired
through a $565 million purchase of rival Wild Oats Markets Inc.
The Austin, Texas-based company plans to keep open stores of both chains in
Boulder but will not open a Wild Oats store planned on 29th Street, opting to
sell or lease the space to another retailer. It did not announce plans about
other stores in the Rocky Mountain region.
Whole Foods also reiterated its pledge to lower prices at 23 Wild Oats
Markets in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Utah, Idaho and Kansas City, Mo., to
maintain consistency across the chain.
The announcement came two days after Whole Foods closed its purchase of
Boulder-based Wild Oats, ending a contentious, monthslong battle with federal
regulators who opposed the union on antitrust grounds.
Among the Boulder plans are an expansion of a Whole Foods store on Pearl
Street by 2010 with the ultimate goal of 500 employees, and renovating three
other stores.
It also will convert an 18,500-square-foot Wild Oats store on Baseline Road
into a new concept called Whole Foods Market Express catering to nearby
University of Colorado students with more "grab-and-go" products.
Will Paradise, president of Whole Foods' Rocky Mountain region, plans to
tour Wild Oats stores in the five states beginning Friday to discuss the
company's plans.
He said the Boulder stores were given a priority because the city about 30
miles northwest of Denver is where Wild Oats was founded and remains a big
market for organic foods.
Shares of Whole Foods declined $1.64 to close at $44.15 a share in Thursday
trading.
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