Whole Foods 2012 Annual Report Download - page 15

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5
Over the last 15 fiscal years, our identical store sales growth has averaged approximately 8%. Our identical store sales growth
for each of the last 15 fiscal years is shown in the following chart:
Approximately 17% of our existing square footage was acquired, and while we may continue to pursue acquisitions of smaller
chains that provide access to desirable geographic areas and experienced team members, such acquisitions are not expected to
significantly impact our future store growth or financial results. Our growth strategy is to expand primarily through new store
openings. We have a disciplined, opportunistic real estate strategy, opening stores in existing trade areas as well as new areas,
including international locations. We typically target stores located on premium real estate sites, and while we may open stores
as small as 15,000 square feet or as large as 75,000 square feet, the majority of our new stores are expected to fall in the range
of 35,000 to 45,000 square feet going forward.
Our historical store growth and sales mix is summarized below:
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Stores at beginning of fiscal year 311 299 284 275 276
Stores opened 25 18 16 15 20
Acquired stores —— 2——
Divested stores —— (2)——
Relocated stores (1) (6) — (5) (7)
Closed stores — — (1) (1) (14)
Stores at end of fiscal year 335 311 299 284 275
Remodels with major expansions (1) 21— 2 1
Total gross square footage at end of fiscal year 12,735,000 11,832,000 11,231,000 10,566,000 9,895,000
Year-over-year growth 8% 5% 6% 7% 6%
(1) Defined as remodels with expansions of square footage greater than 20% completed during the fiscal year.
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Sales mix:
Identical stores 93.3% 94.6% 93.2% 91.4% 80.9%
New/relocated stores and remodels with major expansions 6.2 4.7 6.0 7.8 9.9
Acquired stores — 0.3 0.1 — 8.7
Other sales, primarily non-retail external sales 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.5
Total sales 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%