THE CASE ON WHOLE FOODS

The case on Whole Foods

The case on Whole Foods

The Federal Trade Commission's case against Whole Foods Market Inc.'s purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc. is set for trial in February.

The FTC reopened its antitrust investigation in August after a federal appeals court ruled that a judge had erred in denying the FTC's request to block the grocery deal in 2007.

Austin-based Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFMI) completed the $565 million purchase of Boulder, Colo.-based Wild Oats in August 2007.

The FTC's case is currently in the pretrial discovery phase, and is scheduled to go to trial in Washington, D.C., federal court in February.

“Whole Foods Market is vigorously contesting the administrative case and defending the merger which has benefited, and continues to benefit, both customers and team members,” Whole Foods says in its latest earnings report.

“While the company disagrees with the reversal of the lower court decision denying the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction, the decision acknowledges that neither the court nor the FTC has found the merger to be unlawful,” Whole Foods says.

Meanwhile, Whole Foods' profits plunged 95 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter to $1.5 million, mostly on costs associated with the Wild Oats acquisition. However, shares in the grocery company were up 5 percent on Thursday on news that the company is getting a $425 million infusion from investor Leonard Green & Partners.

The following case study was conducted in September 2007.

There's nothing wrong in a CEO doing his best to promote his brand. It is perfectly logical for a CEO to communicate with his networked market online. It is quite smart to do so in those places where your brand and business are discussed.

The unwritten rules of consumer-marketer interaction on Internet's social media have recently been fire-tested and there's something to be learn out of this experience ...