'Damage caused by WSJ Op-Ed shows Mackey is a 'Liability'
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Editor's Note: Whole Foods' stock is continuing a good recovery since its precipitous drop last November to below $10. It is currently trading at close to $30, and apparently is not being affected by the call for a boycott.
John Mackey/Courtesy Whole Foods Market
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ – The CtW Investment Group called on the Whole Foods Market (NYSE: WFMI) board to remove CEO John Mackey as Chairman and to begin the process of naming a new CEO in a letter to Whole Foods' lead independent director, Dr. John Elstrott, yesterday afternoon. Citing the risk to Whole Foods' brand reputation caused by Mr. Mackey's editorial opposing President Obama's proposed healthcare reform, CtW urged the board to take immediate action to prevent continued damage in the face of a quickly-growing boycott by Whole Foods' progressive customer base."Mr. Mackey attempted to capitalize on the brand reputation of Whole Foods to champion his personal political views, but has instead deeply offended a key segment of Whole Foods consumer base," said CtW Investment Group Executive Director Bill Patterson. "This is not the first time Mr. Mackey's unsanctioned communications have damaged Whole Foods' image with consumers and investors. At a time when shareholders are looking for Whole Foods' management to focus on improving operations in an uncertain economy, we can not afford the risk to our Company's brand reputation caused by Mr. Mackey's indiscretion. He has become a liability and the board should begin the process of identifying a suitable replacement."
6 comments:
Yea for Whole Foods for their stock rally! Go John Mackey! John Mackey for President in 2012!
Speak your mind before the Obamnistas declare you a racist and have you locked up in Guantanamo as a terrorist and a threat to the public peace in America.
Do the socially responsible thing. Divest your shares in CtW Investment Group, and let 'em know that they can't hijack an operation like Whole Foods for their personal political aims.
Boy, do we have a couple of geniuses in Anonymous 1 and 2 above. First of all, based on his comments, # 1 is a racist. And if # 1 thinks Mackey should be President, he must think Sarah Palin is smart. I tell you what # 1, I will show you Obama's birth certificate if you show me Palin's high school diploma. Regarding # 2, CtW did exactly what they should have done: ask the Board of WFMI to get rid of the CEO of a publicly traded company who has a history of mouthing off stupidly and thus jeapordizing the company's revenues and its stock price. And Mackey is a hypocrite based on his customers who got him there. And yeah, I'm sure the right wing obesity set will fill in for the boycotters. Duh!
# 3, you are just right on track for what the right-wingers say will happen. Oppose Obama, and automatically you are branded as a racist.
I guess maybe you are a Nazi? An SS man yourself? Are you waiting breathlessly for the takeover so that you can land yourself a cushy czarist job like Obama's other cronies?
Maybe, just maybe, if sarcasm were taken in the way that it supposed to be taken, like all of the liberal "comedians", than maybe we could laugh at ourselves again. The only time something politically is funny to liberals is if it is degrading about conservatives.
As for Mackey, I do think that since it is his company that he is CEO of, he has every right to speak his mind, politically or otherwise. If you want to boycott, go ahead elitist liberal scum. I have never shopped at Whole Foods, because I have always had the impression that it, like the other "green" grocery stores are filled with the liberal elites who like to think that they are just a notch above everyone else. Your post just essentially confirms my opinion of liberals, you do really think you are better than everyone else. While my opinion of Mackey has definitely changed, I most likely will still frequent Super S, Brookshire Bros., and HEB. Where the common man shops, who happens to be conservative because he works for a living and only wants what he earns, and doesn't want the money that the government hands out.
I believe the point is that Mackey has become a corporate lackey. Years ago, I frequented Whole Foods when it was a quaint little store on Lamar Blvd in Austin. I'm glad for the experience. Most employees and shoppers wore long hair, beads, jeans and sandals. Beautiful people and proud they had a store that matched their lifestyles. Great smoothies were served and you could clearly see and feel community as well as the natural organically grown products. Mackey unfortunately has taken the long path to corporate expansionism, along the way losing his connection with where he came from and who he started with. Nowadays he prefers schmoozing with corporate captains like the Waltons of Wal Mart. A cardinal rule in politics and business advises to always take care of your base. Mackey has violated the rule. He is no longer on the same team with his customer base. For that reason alone, he should step down as CEO. I believe the boycott will have an effect, it will show in the next quarterly financials.
All of this criticism of Mackey, who nobody ever heard of before this, is counter to the so-called liberal hippie culture’s beginnings. I was there and remember the word “Freedom” as a cornerstone of the movement and it was not just about sex and drugs. It had a lot to do about the first amendment. It was a beautiful time and the government feared the message and its progression. The movement was totally unorganized at first but gradually taken over by Marxists, draft dodgers and other ne'er-do-wells.
After the “War”, the wheels began to fall off of the movement and a large part of the true believers and idealists faded into obscurity. They were soon to be replaced by racial idealogs and history revisionists. Through the years, the yuppie elite and socialist anarchists have displaced it. Since the last presidential election the whole thing has shifted over to be in favor of big government and socialism.
Boycott if you must, but what will you accomplish? It won’t resurrect the President’s failing healthcare insurance reform legislation. Mackey has tons of money, your money, and will laugh all the way to the bank only to come back and run for office, Governor Mackey?
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