Whole Foods 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

Our pace of store openings is accelerating, and we are very pleased with how well our newer stores are
performing. We opened a record number of new stores in 2012 and expect this to continue into 2013 and 2014
as well. For the last six quarters, on average our new store class consisted of 22 stores open for approximately
six months. At 38,000 square feet in size, they produced average weekly sales of $564,000 translating to sales
per square foot of $777, and generated a contribution margin of approximately 6%. These outstanding results,
combined with lower average capital investment and pre-opening expenses per store, are driving solid returns.
By year end, our return on invested capital for comparable stores less than two years old was 16%, our highest
result since 2004.
We walk our talk when it comes to our Core Values.
Our 73,000 team members are the heart and soul of our company, and our “not-so-secret” sauce. Last January,
we were extremely pleased to be ranked #32 on Fortune’s list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in
America." To be one of only 13 companies ranked consecutively for 15 years validates our commitment to our
Core Value of ‘Supporting Team Member Happiness and Excellence.’ We created over 8,500 new jobs this past
year, and team member morale is very high.
In addition, our foundations and Local Producer Loan Program continued to expand their good works. Whole
Planet Foundation®, whose mission is to empower the poor through microcredit in communities that supply
our stores with product, has partnered with various microfinance institutions to facilitate over $32 million in
company, team member, supplier and customer-funded grants to micro-lending projects in 53 countries.
Whole Kids Foundation™, dedicated to improving children’s nutrition by supporting schools and inspiring
families, celebrated its first anniversary. Through the generosity of customers, team members, suppliers and
community donors, nearly 1,000 schools in the U.S. and Canada received school garden grants in 2012, and
to date, more than 1,500 salad bars have been provided to schools around the country through the partnership
between Whole Foods Market, Whole Kids Foundation, and Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools. And, since
making the first loan through our Local Producer Loan Program in February 2007, we now have loaned more
than $7 million to 121 local producers across the country.
letter to stakeholders
Our Total Health Immersion and Healthy Discount Incentive Programs were designed specifically to promote
the health of our team members, and we believe we are seeing some great initial results. Since launching our
Total Health Immersion Program in the fall of 2009, over 1,600 team members have participated in this multi-
day educational opportunity. Our Healthy Discount Incentive Program offers additional store discounts based
on meeting designated biometric criteria and being nicotine-free. This year approximately 14,000 team members
participated in screenings, with over 8,600 receiving higher-level discount cards. We believe these programs
are helping to educate team members and create awareness of the benefits of healthier habits and contributed
to year-over-year decreases in participant medical claims (net paid per claimant) and inpatient hospital stays
(average paid per day), as well as an increase in annual preventive wellness exams.
Our support of and leadership in causes that are important to our communities have created a loyal core
customer base aligned with our mission and Core Values. This year, our cash and product donations to chari-
table organizations once again well exceeded our goal of 5% of our after-tax profits.