London Ripe for Fantastic Organic Invasion

Whole Foods Market, the world’s largest organic and natural foods chain, has opened a new flagship store in London.

The store, which opens today, is the company’s first outside of North America and is the first of hundreds planned in Britain and across Europe.

Britain’s largest supermarket at 80,000 sq ft, the store is located in a landmark former department store building on upmarket Kensington High Street.

It is the largest of the chain’s nearly 200 stores and is one of the most anticipated store openings in London this year.

Whole Foods co-president Walter Robb said the Texas-based firm was coming to Britain because of the "tremendous potential" it offered.

Mr Robb declined to give specifics for the expansion plans in Britain, but drew a parallel with California, which is roughly the same size and where it has 40 stores.

"We’re obviously not here to do one store. We have plans for the UK and the continent," he said at yesterday’s launch party.

"We’re saying by 2010 we expect we can have 300 stores in the US, and the UK and Europe are around the same size market. Maybe we could have something similar here."

Whole Foods’ opening coincides with unprecedented demand for organic and natural foods. Recent research showed that more than 60 per cent of British shoppers buy at least one organic item a week.

The store draws on the chain’s well-known Whole Foods outlet at Manhattan’s Columbus Circle, a gastronomic spectacle that made it the world leader.

It sells fresh fish, vegetables, yoga mats, body lotion and peanut butter you can grind at the store without artificial sweeteners, colourings, additives or preservatives.

But there is a distinct London vibe to the interior, which includes a pub and a DJ on the second of its three floors alongside restaurants serving seafood, pizza, ice-cream and meze.

Some analysts estimate that the London store could rack up pounds 50-60 million in sales a year, but that its success depends on whether Londoners take its values to heart. It also faces stiff competition from established retailers.

(c) 2007 Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.