Whole Foods Slows Expansion Plans

Whole Foods (Austin, Texas) announced that, while it will continue opening new stores, it will be slowing down the pace at which it expands. In fact, it will also be closing nine stores this quarter. This comes as the company has experienced its sixth straight quarter of falling sales at existing stores.

The company had already planned to open six stores this quarter, and those stores will still open. (Two of those stores are relocations.) However, in the future, it will consider new locations more carefully, reports U.S. News & World Report. Previously, the grocer had said it may open up to 1200 stores around the world.  

Instead, the grocer is going to focus on increasing sales at existing stores. For instance, it hopes to encourage shoppers to add just one more item to each shopping trip to boost the stores’ sales.