Whole Foods is not terribly interested in price competition. One customer buys her food by making her check payable to Whole Paycheck. In the natural food wars between Whole Foods and Fresh Fields here in Chicago a few years back, Fresh Fields cut prices and ended up losing money. Whole Foods kept prices high and made enough money to buy Fresh Fields out promptly closing down the competing stores and raising prices. Whole Foods remains unconcerned over complaints that this stigmatizes and inconveniences LINK customers.
Employees can earn bonuses based on increases in store brand purchases.
This focus on the their store brands has annoyed some customers. It has 1200 mg of salt for chrissake and it tastes like shit just like the Jewel kind. There is nothing fuckin Alfredo about it. Alfredo is probably the guy making minimum wage mixing up this shit at the factory. With many consumers it is simply the lack of competition that brings them back and paying higher prices.