Whole Foods Resets Regions, Promises Business As Usual for Brands

Whole Foods Market has redrawn its national footprint and dropped from nine to six total regions to create a new organizational structure that will result in “a more consistent number of stores per region,” the Amazon-owned retailer said in an announcement last week.

Though this may change which regions brands are sold in, a spokesperson told NOSH that suppliers will not be impacted when it comes to merchandising or distribution.

The news accompanies last week’s announcement that the company had laid off team members in its global and regional headquarters.

“We are evolving our operating structure and making adjustments to some corporate teams, so we can better support our stores as Whole Foods Market continues to grow and expand its reach to serve more customers,” the spokesperson said.

According to an internal company memo sent last week, the new structure will divide the retailer’s 500-plus stores across six regions, resulting in “a more consistent number of stores per region.” The company said that the change will not result in any store closures, though it will decrease the number of regional presidents and some roles in regional offices.

“Store and facility-based roles are not directly impacted,” the memo stated, “though there will be some adjustments to how support and store teams work together.”

Some notable changes include:

• The North Atlantic region will include all international stores in Canada and the UK.
• California is now its own unified region. The state’s stores were previously split between the Northern California and Southern Pacific regions.
• The rest of the Northern California region (which included part of Nevada), the Mountain Pacific and much of the Midwest regions have been combined into a new Central West region — which will include the company’s flagship store in Austin.
• The majority of the stores in the former Southwest region, are now in the Southeast region.

In order to adequately staff these larger geographic areas, five regions will have multiple regional offices. For example, the North Atlantic will have staff in Boston, Vancouver, Toronto and London while the Central West will maintain headquarters in Denver, Austin and Seattle.

A spokesperson for Whole Foods Market said the regional realignment will not impact the company’s category review schedule, merchandising plans, or merchandising team, and brands should expect to have continuity in their points of contact.

Brands will also continue to be sold in their existing stores, even if that store is now part of a region that does not currently sell its products. Stores are continuing to place and receive orders from their current distribution centers, the spokesperson confirmed.

Whole Foods Market sources new products using two methods: local foragers and global category managers. The former will remain a vital part of the organization, the spokesperson said, seeking out products from their respective individual regions.

“This shift [will not]…change our commitment to maintaining local relevance in our stores,” last week’s memo stated.

Whole Foods defines a “global” brand as one having products sold in four or more regions, a designation that also requires commitment to a higher promotional spend. Despite the chain consolidating its regions, that point of delineation will remain steady, with the spokesperson noting that any brand sold in multiple regions is already managed by the global team.

The changes to the business come roughly six months after Jason Buechel, Whole Foods’ COO, took on the role of CEO from founder John Mackey, who retired in September 2022. Parent company Amazon has made trimming operations related to its “Stores Business” a core focus for 2023, CEO Andy Jassey said on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call in February. The news accompanies last week’s announcement that Whole Foods had laid off team members in its global and regional headquarters.

At Whole Foods, regional and global departments including Team Member Services (TMS), Operations and Supply Chain Management will see their structures change: regional, category-specific store operations, for example, have moved to a new global Field Support team. Global and regional Support Team members were notified on Friday if their positions had been eliminated.

“As we simplify processes and improve how we operate, we will be able to quickly respond to evolving business needs, focus more on our most impactful work, and invest in new ways to serve all stakeholders,” last week’s memo stated. “We are confident these changes will allow us to better support our stores, Team Members, and suppliers, elevate the customer experience position Whole Foods Market for continued growth.”