Will Whole Foods Win?

"..Whole Foods said it hasn't decided which Henry's stores will stay open but said it will remodel and rebrand the ones it keeps. The Henry's locations provide a challenge in that for the most part, they are smaller than a typical Whole Foods, which ranges from 40,000 to 75,000 square feet.

..Speculation has included everything from Whole Foods remaking most of the Wild Oats and Henry's or perhaps selling some or all of the Henry's stores because their size and locations don't fit Whole Foods' plans.

..Despite the increased competition, Whalin said, most natural food stores should be able to fend off the supermarket chains because they know the business and have better contacts throughout the industry. Also, they serve a different clientele. Wal-Mart, for instance, has cut back on its ambitious plans to offer more organic products because its customers didn't want to spend the extra money.

"I don't ever see the mass-markets chains being a major player in the organic market," Whalin said. "They just don't do it that well."

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