Whole Foods Cannot Sow Wild Oats

FTC accuses crunchy granola types of monopoly grab
By Sarah Levy,  Newser User
Posted Jun 6, 2007 8:30 PM CDT
Whole Foods Cannot Sow Wild Oats
'   (Associated Press)

Even crunchy granola types may be monopolists at heart—at least according to the Federal Trade Commission.The FTC said yesterday it wants to block Whole Foods’ $670 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets, claiming that the sale will result in even higher-than-usual prices at the natural foods stores.

Industry insiders say the FTC is ignoring strong competition from other large retailers, including Wal-Mart and Costco, that have hopped on the organic bandwagon. The merger would give Whole Foods control of only 11% of the market for natural foods. “I don’t see how these two could have a monopoly,” said one consultant. (More Whole Foods stories.)

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