Whole Foods CEO Apology
This is, I believe, the shortest apology we've looked at on Apology Index:
AUSTIN, Texas (July 17, 2007). Whole Foods Market today released the following statement from Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, John Mackey: "I sincerely apologize to all Whole Foods Market stakeholders for my error in judgment in anonymously participating on online financial message boards. I am very sorry and I ask our stakeholders to please forgive me." (Whole Foods)
Whole Foods Market, as many of you surely know, is a chain of high end grocery stores that sell expensive organic food. Let's face it, if you want anything edible made of flax, Whole Foods is the place to go. Actually, I go for the hot bar and the free wi-fi and buy my groceries for much less at Publix or Safeway, but many people swear by Whole Foods. Because they're not just selling organically grown, natural, pesticide-free wholesome food products. They're selling a lifestyle:
We believe in a virtuous circle entwining the food chain, human beings and Mother Earth: each is reliant upon the others through a beautiful and delicate symbiosis. (Whole Foods website)
Excuse me a moment. I teared up a bit. That delicate symbiosis gets me every time. Did you know that Whole foods purchases many of their fine products from "small, uniquely dedicated food artisans?" I think that means hobbits. And, really, we should all do more to support hobbit agriculture. Things have been tough in the Shire since the movie hype died down.
Whole Foods has been a successful business, a favorite of investors and food shoppers alike, and this year ranked number 5 on Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For." Much of this success can be attributed to the vision and business acumen of Whole Foods Chairman and CEO John Mackey. By all accounts, an excellent businessman who is truly committed to the delicate symbiosis.
But another McGirt Maxim applies here: Just because you're smart, doesn't mean you can't be stupid too.
Over the last few years, Mackey has apparently spent way too much time on the ubiquitous internets. I know how that goes. But what got him in trouble is a fondness for chat rooms and message boards.
No, not that kind.
Financial message boards, where investors and would-be market analysts share investment tips, data and advice and comment on the actions, business strategies, moves, mistakes and prospects of virtually every publicly traded company out there. These message boards can be useful tools for investors because there are a lot of smart people posting messages who really dig into companies, analyze the financials, etc. Granted, there also a lot of idiots posting too, and a few frauds. But the fact that hundreds, if not thousands, of people can all pool their knowledge and insights about companies you may want to invest in, or avoid, makes financial message boards a fantastic development of the Information Age. I personally use and recommend The Motley Fool community.
Now the CEO of a successful company probably has much useful insight to offer investors. Should he be posting on message boards? Say, the popular Yahoo! Finance message boards? Maybe. Should he post anonymously, using a screen name like, say "rehodeb", an anagram of his wife's name? That is sweet, but you probably should proceed with caution.
Should a CEO of a publicly traded company post anonymously on financial message boards praising his own company and disparaging his company's competitors?
Oooh, that's a tough one. I'm going to go with ... bad idea.
But that is exactly what Mackey did:
Chairman and CEO John Mackey, using the name "Rahodeb," boasted about Whole Foods and attacked rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. on Internet financial sites. ... Some of Mackey's postings from 1999 to 2006 claimed that Wild Oats was overvalued and poorly run. This year, Whole Foods announced it would buy the Boulder, Colo.-based rival for about $565 million, but federal antitrust regulators won an injunction temporarily blocking the deal. (AJC.com)
Oops. Whole Foods itself revealed Mackey's anonymous moonlighting in its filings with the Federal Trade Commission in support of the proposed merger with Wild Oats.
Free market rant follows. You may skip this part and I'll join you for apology analysis on the other side:
The FTC says the combination of the two organic grocers would cause prices to rise. Has anyone at the FTC shopped at Whole Foods? Prices are already pretty high. Whole Foods says the fear of higher prices is bunk, because they compete with mainstream grocers who are now selling organic food. Even Wal-Mart is getting into the act. Now I'm no expert on how government bureaucrats can best meddle in the free market for no discernible good reason, but I'd suggest to the FTC that if Wal-Mart is moving into this market, it is not going to amount to a hill of organically-grown bean if Whole Foods and Wild Oats merge. The sheer downward pressure on prices exerted by Wal-Mart will more than offset any supposed "monopoly pricing" by the Whole Foods/Wild Oats combination. But I guess acknowledging the existence of a monopoly-like business such as Wal-Mart that actually lowers prices would tend to call into question why we need the FTC sticking its collective nose into mergers in the first place.
End of rant. As I said, Mackey's apology is remarkably brief. He did not deliver it in person. This was a statement released on the Whole Foods website. He is very sorry. It was an error in judgment. Please forgive him.
Very to the point. Why so brief? Probably because the SEC has begun an investigation and the Whole Foods board is conducting its own internal investigation. So it is in the best interests of Mackey and Whole Foods for him to say as little as possible. At the same time ... particularly given that much of Whole Foods' appeal to customers is based on its touchy-feely big hugs circle of trust ethos of delicate symbiosis, it is important for Mackey to acknowledge his errors, express his regrets and beg forgiveness. All of which this statement does about as efficiently as possible. No wasted words here.
We'll see how this plays out for Mackey and his company.
Our friends at The Motley Fool have more: "The Wrath of Rahodeb"
AUSTIN, Texas (July 17, 2007). Whole Foods Market today released the following statement from Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, John Mackey: "I sincerely apologize to all Whole Foods Market stakeholders for my error in judgment in anonymously participating on online financial message boards. I am very sorry and I ask our stakeholders to please forgive me." (Whole Foods)
Whole Foods Market, as many of you surely know, is a chain of high end grocery stores that sell expensive organic food. Let's face it, if you want anything edible made of flax, Whole Foods is the place to go. Actually, I go for the hot bar and the free wi-fi and buy my groceries for much less at Publix or Safeway, but many people swear by Whole Foods. Because they're not just selling organically grown, natural, pesticide-free wholesome food products. They're selling a lifestyle:
We believe in a virtuous circle entwining the food chain, human beings and Mother Earth: each is reliant upon the others through a beautiful and delicate symbiosis. (Whole Foods website)
Excuse me a moment. I teared up a bit. That delicate symbiosis gets me every time. Did you know that Whole foods purchases many of their fine products from "small, uniquely dedicated food artisans?" I think that means hobbits. And, really, we should all do more to support hobbit agriculture. Things have been tough in the Shire since the movie hype died down.
Whole Foods has been a successful business, a favorite of investors and food shoppers alike, and this year ranked number 5 on Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For." Much of this success can be attributed to the vision and business acumen of Whole Foods Chairman and CEO John Mackey. By all accounts, an excellent businessman who is truly committed to the delicate symbiosis.
But another McGirt Maxim applies here: Just because you're smart, doesn't mean you can't be stupid too.
Over the last few years, Mackey has apparently spent way too much time on the ubiquitous internets. I know how that goes. But what got him in trouble is a fondness for chat rooms and message boards.
No, not that kind.
Financial message boards, where investors and would-be market analysts share investment tips, data and advice and comment on the actions, business strategies, moves, mistakes and prospects of virtually every publicly traded company out there. These message boards can be useful tools for investors because there are a lot of smart people posting messages who really dig into companies, analyze the financials, etc. Granted, there also a lot of idiots posting too, and a few frauds. But the fact that hundreds, if not thousands, of people can all pool their knowledge and insights about companies you may want to invest in, or avoid, makes financial message boards a fantastic development of the Information Age. I personally use and recommend The Motley Fool community.
Now the CEO of a successful company probably has much useful insight to offer investors. Should he be posting on message boards? Say, the popular Yahoo! Finance message boards? Maybe. Should he post anonymously, using a screen name like, say "rehodeb", an anagram of his wife's name? That is sweet, but you probably should proceed with caution.
Should a CEO of a publicly traded company post anonymously on financial message boards praising his own company and disparaging his company's competitors?
Oooh, that's a tough one. I'm going to go with ... bad idea.
But that is exactly what Mackey did:
Chairman and CEO John Mackey, using the name "Rahodeb," boasted about Whole Foods and attacked rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. on Internet financial sites. ... Some of Mackey's postings from 1999 to 2006 claimed that Wild Oats was overvalued and poorly run. This year, Whole Foods announced it would buy the Boulder, Colo.-based rival for about $565 million, but federal antitrust regulators won an injunction temporarily blocking the deal. (AJC.com)
Oops. Whole Foods itself revealed Mackey's anonymous moonlighting in its filings with the Federal Trade Commission in support of the proposed merger with Wild Oats.
Free market rant follows. You may skip this part and I'll join you for apology analysis on the other side:
The FTC says the combination of the two organic grocers would cause prices to rise. Has anyone at the FTC shopped at Whole Foods? Prices are already pretty high. Whole Foods says the fear of higher prices is bunk, because they compete with mainstream grocers who are now selling organic food. Even Wal-Mart is getting into the act. Now I'm no expert on how government bureaucrats can best meddle in the free market for no discernible good reason, but I'd suggest to the FTC that if Wal-Mart is moving into this market, it is not going to amount to a hill of organically-grown bean if Whole Foods and Wild Oats merge. The sheer downward pressure on prices exerted by Wal-Mart will more than offset any supposed "monopoly pricing" by the Whole Foods/Wild Oats combination. But I guess acknowledging the existence of a monopoly-like business such as Wal-Mart that actually lowers prices would tend to call into question why we need the FTC sticking its collective nose into mergers in the first place.
End of rant. As I said, Mackey's apology is remarkably brief. He did not deliver it in person. This was a statement released on the Whole Foods website. He is very sorry. It was an error in judgment. Please forgive him.
Very to the point. Why so brief? Probably because the SEC has begun an investigation and the Whole Foods board is conducting its own internal investigation. So it is in the best interests of Mackey and Whole Foods for him to say as little as possible. At the same time ... particularly given that much of Whole Foods' appeal to customers is based on its touchy-feely big hugs circle of trust ethos of delicate symbiosis, it is important for Mackey to acknowledge his errors, express his regrets and beg forgiveness. All of which this statement does about as efficiently as possible. No wasted words here.
We'll see how this plays out for Mackey and his company.
Our friends at The Motley Fool have more: "The Wrath of Rahodeb"
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