“Chainsaw John Mackey”
In Whole Foods Market lore, there’s a company campfire store about John Mackey sending the original founder/CEO of Wild Oats the board game RISK along with a feisty note. Given their recent merger announcement, it seems apropos to share this snippet of a story.
At one point in the 1990s, Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats were fierce rivals. Both were upstarts in the staid supermarket industry and both began their existence in hippie hotbeds—Whole Foods in Austin, TX and Wild Oats in Boulder, CO.
As the company campfire story goes, Mike Gilliland (founder and former CEO of Wild Oats) once referred to John Mackey as “Chainsaw Al” Dunlap, the CEO notorious for cutting cuts and slashing jobs by any means necessary. Mackey didn’t take that swipe at his character too well.
In retaliation, Mackey sent Gilliland the board game RISK, which is a game of world domination. Attached to the game was a note from Mackey that read, “Forewarned is forearmed.” The note was signed “Chainsaw John Mackey.”
Wahoo! What a funny small world this is. I really admire Mackey and Whole Foods. Great company, great leader. It makes me laugh to think about him sending "Risk." That's a bold message. And now he's the boss.
Posted by: Frank Roche | February 22, 2007 at 03:49 PM
I think the merger will be a good one. I do see some problems coming as I have now been informed by receiving information that the Chicago courts have a case where the domain for "Henrys Farmers Market.com which covers 33 stores of Wild Oats has a pending lawsuit by a large firm stating they have complete rights to the domain and will prove it in a Chicago court room shortly. If this case is lost it will cost this merger huge costs and loss of revenues. Key Question...What will Wild Oats and Whole Foods do to eliminate this mess before their merger is completed?
Posted by: Mary Eggone | April 17, 2007 at 09:53 PM
Anyone who is in the organic retail game saw all of this coming a long time ago....Mackey is no longer about the $, as he "cashed in" right before the stock went in the crapper....
The big loser, in the long haul, will be the independent retailer...the Ma and Pa shops the still dot the landscape nationwide.
This merger deal will eventually be blessed by the Fed's, and Mackey's next move will be to buy UNFI.....then, he'll get to avail himself of retailers buying habits coast to coast.
Can you imagine that? Wow.....what a country.....
Posted by: Dean Sparks | June 05, 2007 at 04:58 PM