Whole Foods scaling back its "Whole Paycheck" image

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"We sell a bunch of junk," says Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in a recent WSJ article. "We've decided if Whole Foods doesn't take a leadership role in educating people about a healthy diet, who the heck is going to do it?"

The upscale grocery chain is reorienting itself around heathier lifestyles and food choices as well as repositioning itself to compete with value chains like Trader Joe's and Costco. It's partly good intentions, but it also has lots to do with the grocery chain's efforts to maintain profits the WSJ says. The company recently witnessed three consecutive quarters of declining sales.

The article says stores have been slashing prices as well as expanding its in-house 365 line. "We have a policy that our 365 private label has to match Trader Joe's prices, unless there is a significant difference in quality, in which case it probably shouldn't be a 365 product," Mackey tells the WSJ.

[via Daily Finance]