08-17-2009, 10:26 PM
Quote:Both of these are a classic case of "Know your customer." -- John Mackey should have realized that his opinion on health care might be out of sync with the majority of his corporations customers, and hence to give your opinion would rock the boat. Just as Natalie should have realized that just because you are in England, does not mean all those red necks in the USA are not aware of what you are saying abroad. Which then leads to my last observation, which is when I buy my gas, groceries, clothing, and entertainment I have little inkling of what the opinions are of the CEO's of the corporations to which I shop, nor do I care.
In general I would agree with you. Whole Foods, though, is much closer to Trader Joes than Walmart. Part of their niche is selling an image or lifestyle to people who are willing to spend a few extra dollars on a box that says "Natural". If you take away that image then all you have is a more expensive grocery store. When a major aspect of your business is based on image coming out and saying something contradictory to that image is just stupid. You don't see Steve Jobs coming out saying stuff like "PCs are actually just as easy to use as a Mac."