John Mackey CEO of Whole Foods went on John Stossel’s brand-new show on Fox Business News last week in what seems to be Stage 2 in his rebranding of Whole Foods.
Long-time critics of Mackey’s will point out out that the man has never been shy about airing his conservative, libertarian politics. True, but he’s never gone on Fox with an arch-conservative opiniojournalist in order to bash liberal ideals quite like this, to my knowledge.
Previously, we’ve discussed why this is a tricky manuever for Whole Foods as a business, married as it’s been to liberal culture in the eyes of many. And when you read the transcript of his appearance on Stossel’s show, Mackey sounds a lot like he’s coming out of the closet. After all, he’s been on the national stage for so long without giving full-throated voice to his politics. Must feel good, speaking his mind so openly like that.
But four days after the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed Whole Foods Republicans, it’s hard not to see Mackey’s Fox appearance as more than just a libertarian airing his thoughts. He’s also a grocer offering a cart to conservative shoppers. By going on Fox and bashing Canada’s public health care, let alone saying that he likes Grover Norquist, Mackey is speaking past his traditional, liberal core market and speaking to…a different core. It’s the same song that Whole Foods has long sung, just a different key, and it’s really quite brilliant (if it’s not simply Mackey stumbling and bumbling, which I no longer believe). Core shoppers, whether raving liberals or raving conservatives, like to know that a business shares their values before shopping there. We saw proof of this when conservative shoppers, who would have never stepped foot in a Whole Foods before, decided to “buycott” the natural foods store this summer, in support of Mackey’s anti-Obamacare stance.
Mackey seems to be playing for the consevative shopper by saying, “Look, I share your values, right down to the way my company offers its health plans. Whole Foods is a safe place for you to shop.”
It’s a smart move. Why shouldn’t his grocery chain, dedicated to healthy eating and organic foods, be a conservative as well as liberal food-bastion? (We’ve discussed that before, too — here and here.) If sustainable foods are going to progress into the mainstream, then by definition, people of all political stripes are going to be buying them. Who better to carry the sustainable foods message to conservatives than Mackey? Michelle Obama? John Kerry? No, it’s going to have to be a pro-Norquist, anti-regulation sustainable foodie, someone who can sing the conservative song.
This strategy comes with considerable risk, of course. Will the Liberal Core remain loyal to Whole Foods? That’s hard for me to imagine. If Whole Foods starts bleeding core customers, are there enough “Whole Foods Republicans” to sustain the chain? Will other natural food stores benefit from Mackey playing to conservatives so brazenly?
Stay tuned as the Whole Foods rebranding continues apace.
I mostly agree with you, except that I think Mackey is going for new Mid-level shoppers. The core natural foods shopper base is already committed, wherever they are. Future growth comes from the Mid-levels of all political stripes and Mackey knows it.
Correct assessment: Mackey is not stumbling or bumbling. He is shrewd here.
Elizabeth A.
Wedge Co-op, Minneapolis – speaking strictly for myself.
Thanks for popping by the wrestling ring, E! I agree, Mackey is definitely going after mid-level shoppers (those more concerned with taste and health than eco- or political ramifications of food) by deciding, oh, right, I forgot: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1947313,00.html#ixzz0aRmivQVa“>We’re a health food store!
And while health is a mid-level customer’s concern, I’d say the politics and economics of healthcare, as he was discussing with Stossel on Fox, are actually Core shopper concerns. Indeed, if he were going for the Mid-level, he would steer clear of talking politics altogether (as he’s done for most of his tenure as CEO).
Conservative Core shoppers are already committed to Whole Foods, you think?
Whole Foods has always expanded by moving into markets that were already developed rather than working to grow the market. Parasites I’d say. Seems like the perfect corporate / conservative store for people who are short sighted.
Greg
I feel like this Whole Foods conservative spin is presented as some problem. Of course I do not understand this because, although not necessarily conservative, I am a Republican. Furthermore, I cringe when I see liberals monopolizing the conviction of sustainable food as their very own, something that shouldn’t be shared with conservatives.
Do we not all want sustainable food and social conscious purchasing to expand to anyone and everyone, regardless of political views? Anything less makes me question one’s intentions for holding the view in the first place.
I live in the South, where Whole Foods is one of a kind, with virtually no competitors. That translates into no other options for consumers. Pick your battles and don’t ditch a good thing because the unpopular and uptight crowd are now being seen in the same place as you.
Sorry for the delay in responding — technical difficulties on the home computer, here.
I’m not sure why you think I pitched Whole Foods conservative spin as “some problem.” In the big picture, as you point out, it’s exactly what we want, and I did say so: “If sustainable foods are going to progress into the mainstream, then by definition, people of all political stripes are going to be buying them. Who better to carry the sustainable foods message to conservatives than Mackey?”
As a giant retailer of organic foods, Whole Foods’ CEO’s movements are important to the whole market, and that’s why I spend time tracking it. And as a business and a market,it’s worth remembering that sustainable foods came to us via the back-to-landers and other culturally liberal movements, so there’s no denying that Mackey’s strategy of expanding his company’s brand comes with risk: He might anger his customer base — as we saw in the boycott — or possibly his investors. I find it interesting that Mackey lost his chairmanship of the WFM board four days after this appearance on Fox. Because of the company’s size, if Mackey-as-CEO gets a collar put on him by his board, that will impact the organic foods market nationally.
For the record, my problem with Whole Foods is not “left vs right” political. It’s how the company treats small farmers and how high Whole Foods prices its product in order to prop up a national management structure, while trumpeting itself as a champion of local, organic, and sustainable foods. I’ve seen first hand how Whole Foods will refuse to honor contracts and pressure price downward on farmers — a typical corporate strategy that’s no good for the growth of sustainable farming.
~El Dragón
As an anti-establishment political activist, I see this article touching on a larger issue. The liberal movement has taken ownership of the environmental movement and the conservatives have taken the opposite stance because that is what they are supposed to do. We can’t have both sides agree on the same thing, right? Anyways, I am a big supporter of sustainability, eating locally, and minimizing waste as much as possible. I only buy organic products. I shop at a local farmer’s market and I compost. When people find this out about me, they automatically assume that I am a democrat. However, I am a libertarian – not a Republican. It’s a shame that such a great movment centered on our Earth and our health has to be taken over by politics. These slimy politicians know that eco-living is the way of the future and they want to own it. This is made clear by the Cap and Tax regulations. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant at all. I do agree that our industrial factories and toxic waste have created major problems on this Earth. However, I think it is a little too convenient that carbon dioxide was chosen as the enemy. Carbon dioxide is necessary for ALL life to exist on this planet. This is a clear power grab by the elite. Like I said, the politicians and elitists know that the environmental movement is the future and they want to control it. We need more people like Mackey who take matters into their own hands and start making change from the bottom up. We cannot let government tell us how to live. That is against human nature. Mackey knows that every human being cares for this planet and their health and his store is one of very, very few who hold that view as a company. Going on Fox News (I hate that propaganda channel just as much as I hate CNN and MSNBC) was smart because he is trying to grow his customer base. A lot of what he does is business-related, not politics. However, there is a fine line between business and politics and once you get too political, you run the risk of alienating too many customers. Look at Oprah