Whole Foods Market Does the Right Thing in London

This week saw the opening of the first Whole Foods Market in a decade in the U.K.

A natural North American reaction to this might be a gentle shrug of the shoulders. After all, the Amazon-owned, Austin-headquartered outfit keeps opening new stores across the U.S. and they all look pretty good.

It’s a little different this side of The Pond. There is only one large Whole Foods Market in Europe and it’s in Kensington, in the heart of one of the wealthiest parts of London. Put in perspective, this would be a little like a Whole Foods Market trading next door to Saks on New York’s Fifth Avenue. It’s not impossible, but perhaps a little unlikely given the operating costs (although the One Wall Street branch in lower Manhattan presumably costs a pretty penny to keep up and running).

The store that has just opened, however, is in Chelsea. No, not that Chelsea. This is the original Chelsea in West London. This is where the Rolling Stores were to be found promenading in the ’60s, and the long thoroughfare is home to the King’s Road, synonymous with fashion for decades. Here, Whole Foods Market is now welcoming shoppers into a 21,800-square-foot emporium with the usual emphasis on organic produce.

This may not sound huge by the standards of Whole Foods Market in the U.S. but is large when set against the rest of the U.K. estate (only Kensington is larger, and it is currently being downsized) and it is a matter of the right thing in the right place. Disposable income in this neck of the woods is way above average, shoppers are very well-traveled (the overwhelming majority will know this retailer) and the demand for “natural” foods is almost insatiable.

The point, perhaps, is that an eye has been cast over what shoppers both want and need in Chelsea when it comes to food shopping. Whole Foods Market (and by default Amazon) has done its homework well and this store stands as an object lesson in understanding what shoppers require long before the stock hits the shelves. Others might do well to act in a similar manner.