Whole Foods Cannot Sow Wild Oats

Even crunchy granola types may be monopolists at heart—at least according to the Federal Trade Commission.The FTC said yesterday it wants to block Whole Foods’ $670 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets, claiming that the sale will result in even higher-than-usual prices at the natural foods stores.

Industry insiders say the FTC is ignoring strong competition from other large retailers, including Wal-Mart and Costco, that have hopped on the organic bandwagon. The merger would give Whole Foods control of only 11% of the market for natural foods. “I don’t see how these two could have a monopoly,” said one consultant. (More Whole Foods stories.)