Maybe Whole Foods Chief Executive John Mackey should stay away from the keyboard and stick to selling gourmet groceries.

The CEO’s recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal suggested alternatives to healthcare proposals being batted around in the nation’s capital.

Among other things, he asserted that healthcare is not a right and called for ”less government control and more individual empowerment.”

His view got some of the chain’s historically liberal customers so hot under the collar that they have threatened to go elsewhere for their organic apples.

The company’s own healthcare reform forum has more than 14,000 posts. Twitter users are opining on the subject.

And the Boycott Whole Foods group on Facebook, which has attracted more than 20,000 members, is planning to picket stores in Washington, D.C. and the company’s hometown of Austin, Texas, on Friday.

According to the Facebook group, which also dings the company for not having unions, Mackey is ”suggesting that healthcare is a commodity that only the rich, like him, deserve.”

In his own blog, published shortly after the editorial ran, Mackey pinned some of the blame on changes made by those darn headline editors.

“I wrote this Op/Ed piece called simply ‘Health Care Reform.’ An editor at the Journal rewrote the headline to call it ‘Whole Foods Alternative to Obamacare,’ which led to antagonistic feelings by many.”

He continued: “While I am in favor of health care reform, Whole Foods Market as a company has no official position on the issue.”

This isn’t the first time Mackey, the scribe, has caused a flap.

For several years ending in 2006, Mackey used the pseudonym “rahobed” on Yahoo Finance stock forums to talk up Whole Foods shares and his performance as CEO. He also trash talked competitors like Wild Oats. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigated for nearly a year but eventually ruled out any action.

Whole Foods acquired Wild Oats in 2007 and just recently settled an antitrust case with the same federal government that Mackey says should keep its hands off healthcare.

(Photo/Reuters)

A new report by Inside Facebook discusses some best practices for retailers hoping to set up shop on the popular social networking site.

Some of the recommendations include letting users shop from within Facebook, including even the ability to share product information with friends.  Another suggestion is to have contests, giveaways and sweepstakes.

But what’s most interesting is the last suggestion: keep it simple with status updates.

Life is Good does. With simple status updates (much like the name of the brand itself), Life is Good elicits more pondering from its fan community. Their most recent update: “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

Expanding that to “conversation in general,” it seems that specific approach is the key between a social networking presence and a successful social networking presence.

One example from outside the industry is NASA, whose Twitter feed for the Mars Phoenix lander was a huge success.

Part of what helped NASA’s Twitter experiment rocket to such success was how personal it felt to the viewers. Throughout the mission, NASA actually took the time to respond to people’s questions and share in discoveries.

These ideas do translate to retail, of course. JetBlue is very conversational on its Twitter feed, offering travel tips and discounts. Dell became e-famous for offering exclusive discounts both through Twitter and Facebook. And Whole Foods suggests recipes, all through social networking.

What’s challenging, however, is that there is not one simple answer for any of these companies. Each seems to have taken some of these basic principles and applied them to their own brand to create interestingly different outcomes.

But each of the successful ones has the same strategy in the end: conversation. Most of the top brands on Facebook all create original content, post comments, or respond to customers through social networking to increase the conversation about their company and products.

Check out the ten largest U.S. retailers.

The National Retail Federation’s STORES magazine is out with its annual ranking of the top 100 retailers.

The list shows that U.S. consumers have been focused on bargains and basic necessities, such as food and medicine.  Wal-Mart tops the lineup, followed by Kroger and Costco.  Home Depot fell from No. 2 in 2007 to the fourth spot in 2008 as many shoppers decided to cut back on costly home-improvement projects.

Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears Holdings were the only members of the top 10 to see their revenue fall in 2008.

Some other rankings that may interest you: Amazon.com is the 19th largest retailer, ranking higher than well-known chains such as J.C. Penney, 7-Eleven and Gap.  Apple’s stores and iTunes combined hold the 40th spot, topping chains such as Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble.

The companies were listed by annual revenue, which may include estimates for private or closely-held companies.  Revenue from major non-retail operations were excluded when possible.

Also in the basket:

General Mills profit tops view, outlook strong

Constellation Brands earnings beat expectations

Goldman raises Yum Brands to buy

Turf War at the Hot Dog Cart (New York Times)

(Reuters photo)

Ahead of the recession, dollar stores thought it would be a good idea to try to lure shoppers into their stores more frequently by stocking an increased selection of food. Many of them began installing refrigerated coolers in their stores so they could sell things like eggs, milk and dairy.

More recently Family Dollar added 200 more food products — including a bigger selection of pasta and Kraft salad dressings — to its shelves.

As the economic downturn persists, that decision to focus on food appears to be paying off as more shoppers seek low prices on food.

With many consumers losing jobs or seeing their hours cut to part time, shoppers also have more time and greater incentive to compare prices and scour a variety of stores for deals.

The average household made 13 trips to a dollar store in 2008, up from an average of 11 in 2001, the Nielsen Co said. But the average household made 59 trips to supermarkets in 2008 — 13 fewer visits than in 2001.

Shopper Juan Bugueno told Reuters that he shops the Albertsons, Ralphs and Whole Foods grocery stores in his Venice, California, neighborhood — but prefers the dollar store for staples like vegetables and eggs.

“It’s cheap and it’s good,” he said as he purchased bagged spinach and garlic at a busy 99 Cents Only Store.

So, where are you shopping for your groceries these days? Are you venturing into dollar stores instead of heading to the supermarket?

Check out the quarterly results at Wal-Mart.

The retail giant posted a flat profit in line with Wall Street’s expectations, but it gained market share in the recession as consumers sought to take advantage of the company’s low prices on necessities.  

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke said the company remains cautiously optimistic about the timetable for the economic recovery, while Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said a large part of its U.S. growth was coming from new customers.

Others have accepted the new reality of thrifty shoppers as well, as upscale, natural grocer Whole Foods blew past analysts’ profit expectations thanks partly to cost controls and lower-priced fare.  Department store operator Kohl’s, which typically has lower-priced items than other chains and uses discounts to lure shoppers, also just topped Wall Street’s profit expectations.

Hopes the economy will soon emerge from recession were dented this week by a government report that showed sales at U.S. retailers fell for a second straight month in April.

Also in the basket:

Coke to launch bottle partly derived from plants

Urban Outfitters quarterly profit falls

LVMH to take stake in ethical fashion brand Edun

Nice Work if You Can Mix It (Wall Street Journal)

Massachusetts Adopts Rules for Calorie Counts on Menus (Wall Street Journal)

(Reuters photo)

Natural and organic food grocer Whole Foods will sell 13 stores as part of a settlement that ends an antitrust battle with U.S. regulators over its acquisition of rival Wild Oats.

Is your store on the list?  

• 7133 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ
• 8688 E. Raintree Dr., Scottsdale, AZ
• 2584 Baseline Rd., Boulder, CO        
• 1651 Broadway St., Boulder, CO        
• 3180 New Center Pt., Colorado Springs, CO  
• 5910 S. University Blvd., Littleton, CO
• 9229 N Sheridan Blvd., Westminster, CO
• 340 N. Main St., West Hartford, CT  
• 4301 Main St., Kansas City, MO
• 1090 St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM         
• 7250 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas, NV
• 19440 N.W. Cornell Rd., Hillsboro, OR
• 6930 S. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City, UT

(Photo\Mike Blake, Reuters)

Need a mate this Valentine’s Day? Whole Foods wants to help.

The high-end seller of organic, natural and gourmet food has been throwing singles’ mixers in stores around the country as Valentine’s Day approaches.

The chain’s hometown of Austin hosted an event called “Check Out” and to give us a flavor of the evening, it supplied this picture: 

Here’s how it billed that free, Feb. 11 event: 

If you want a “healthy relationship,” where better to look than Whole Foods Market?  Stroll the aisles and taste decadent chocolates and champagne, flirt over fondue, sample perfect recipes for romantic dinners for two, and mingle on the patio with your new friends. You might just find a date for Valentine’s Day!

Several stores in the Southern United States hosted repeat events called Kiss A Fish (a monkfish, that is), Get Some (lobster) Tail! — The parentheses are mine.

The company is hosting other events in states like Hawaii, California, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Are you looking for love in the aisles of your local market?

(Photo\Whole Foods)

Check Out those price cuts.

While the holiday season celebrations have ended, shoppers are still bargain-hungry.  We haven’t seen major price cuts on hot items like the iPhone or Wii, though there does seem to be a trend brewing in bargain basics.

Here are just a few of the deals announced so far this week: 
 
Pennsylvania-based Weis Markets cut prices on thousands of items for 90 days at its 155 stores.
    
“With consumer confidence at an all-time low and the poor economy, we know that our customers are looking for long-term ways to save money,” said Weis Markets President David  Hepfinger.

Whole Foods, longing to shed the “Whole Paycheck” nickname, just issued its latest Whole Deal circular that includes tips such as how much different types of grains cost per serving. There are coupons too, for basics like frozen pizza and vitamins.

It isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon. Wal-Mart’s Asda, the No. 2 supermarket in Britain, is cutting prices on at least 1,000 items. Asda said it is selling 200 health and beauty products like shampoo and deodorant and 100 frozen food items for 1 pound ($1.46) each.

Also in the basket:

Japan shoppers grab lucky New Year bags amid gloom

India lets PepsiCo keep full ownership of local arm

John Lewis weekly sales surge, but seen short lived

(Photo/Reuters)

Food prices are on their way to posting their biggest increase in nearly 20 years and it’s not just the average consumer who is feeling the pain.

Whole Foods Markets Inc, the upscale supermarket chain known for selling natural and organic food to an affluent clientele, has rolled out programs to show consumers how to budget shop at its stores.

The chain — referred to by some as “Whole Paycheck” — has “value gurus” who take customers on a tour around the stores and show them how to get the best deals. It is highlighting its 365 private label brand, weekly promotions and other deals. And, it has launched “The Whole Deal,” a site that invites shoppers to share their money-saving tips.

Grocery stores have seen margins pressured as consumers pull back on certain organic food, switch to store brands from national brands and cook more meals at home rather than buying prepared food.

(Photo: Reuters)