28^th July 2011

Whole Foods Market  announces a new store for Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket, announced today that it intends to open a new 27,000 square-foot store in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in Autumn 2012. It will be the grocer’s fourth new store to be announced in recent months following Giffnock (Glasgow, opening November 2011), Fulham Broadway and Richmond upon Thames (opening 2013).

The new store will create 150 new full and part-time jobs and will help to further build Whole Foods Market’s presence in the UK. The store, a former Homebase, is situated on the Gallagher Retail Park on the Tewkesbury Road, just outside of Cheltenham town centre. The store will include an outdoor seating area, a ‘scratch’ bakery and a full service butchery counter. Whole Foods Market’s natural remedies department, Whole Body will also feature.

Jeff Turnas, Whole Foods Market’s UK Regional President, said: “We are very pleased to be able to announce another store outside of London in Cheltenham. It’s our intention to bring the best quality foods to shoppers throughout the UK and this store, our seventh to open in the UK and our first English store outside of London will help us achieve that. It will help us increase awareness of what we can offer shoppers in the arena of natural foods and it will also enable us to show off the best in British foods, our unique animal welfare rated meats and sustainably ranked seafood, while focusing on reviving traditional skills such as butchery and fishmongery in store.

As with our existing London stores, our goal is to be the finest food shop in every community we serve. For example,we will be baking and cooking on site each day and we will be offering an amazing array of fresh, healthy and organic food, highlighting local products from our UK producers.We want our customers to celebrate the joys of eating and living well and we hope to help prompt conscious food choices.”

Since the opening of its first store in the US in 1980, Whole Foods Market has been known for its commitment to its stringent quality standards. The grocer offers the highest quality natural and organic foods – all free of artificial flavours, sweeteners, colours, preservatives and hydrogenated fats – with bakery, meats and more prepared fresh in store.

Ends

For further information and interviews with Jeff Turnas, please contact:

Alex Tunney at the Whole Foods Market press office on 0207 368 6139 or 07795 396208

Email: alex.tunney@wholefoods.com

Notes to editors:

• Whole Foods Market has over 300 stores in USA, Canada and the UK.
• There are currently 5 Whole Foods Market stores in London at locations in Camden, Clapham Junction, Kensington, Soho and Stoke Newington.
• There are currently 44 stores in development worldwide, including Glasgow which will open in November 2011.
• The company currently employs more than 650 team members in the UK and more than 60,000 team members worldwide.

Whole Foods Market intends to open on Lower George Street in the centre of town early in 2013. The announcement signals the first expansion of the retailer’s UK business since it opened its Kensington store in 2007. Having agreed a partnership with landlord Wereldhave, Whole Foods Market will develop the 20,000 square-foot store, working with UK contractors and local suppliers. The retailer will provide jobs for around 150 local people, including skilled chefs, butchers and bakers.

Jeff Turnas, Whole Foods Market UK regional president, said: “Richmond is the perfect location for our sixth London store and we look forward to becoming part of the vibrant community of West London. We want our customers to celebrate the joys of eating and living well and we’ll be inviting the people of Richmond to change the way they think about and shop for food.

Our goal is to be the finest food shop in every community we serve, and that includes Richmond. We will be baking and cooking in the store each day and we will be offering an amazing array of fresh, healthy and organic food. We are also committed to supporting regional producers and will be offering a host of products sourced locally.

We are delighted to underscore our commitment to the UK and further invest here with this new location. It’s always been our ambition to offer our fresh and vibrant shopping experience to the communities we serve.”

Since the opening of its first store in the US in 1980, Whole Foods Market has been known for its commitment to stringent quality standards. The grocer offers the highest quality natural and organic foods – all free of artificial flavours, sweeteners, colours, preservatives and hydrogenated fats – with bakery, meats and more pre-prepared fresh in store.

The retailer currently has five stores in the Greater London area. With the new sites confirmed, this announcement signals the first expansion of Whole Foods Market’s UK business since it opened its Kensington store in 2007. The stores will total more than 40,000 square feet of floor space and provide jobs for 300 local people, including skilled chefs, butchers and bakers.

Jeff Turnas, Whole Foods Market UK regional president, said: “We are delighted to underscore our commitment to the UK and make this further investment in our business here. It’s always been our ambition to open stores the length and breadth of the UK to offer our fresh and vibrant shopping experience.

Our goal is to be the finest food shop in every community we serve. We will be baking and cooking in the stores each day and we will be offering an amazing array of fresh, healthy and organic food. We are also committed to supporting regional producers and will be offering a host of products sourced locally.

We want our customers to celebrate the joys of eating and living well. We hope Whole Foods Market will continue to prompt change in the way people think about and shop for food and these new stores help us reach a whole new audience.”

Since the opening of its first store in the US in 1980, Whole Foods Market has been known for its commitment to stringent quality standards. The grocer offers the highest quality natural and organic foods – all free of artificial flavours, sweeteners, colours, preservatives and hydrogenated fats – with bakery, meats and more pre-prepared fresh in store.

Jeff Turnas, Whole Foods Market UK regional president, said: “We are delighted to soon be part of the Glasgow food community. Our goal is to be the finest food shop in every community we serve, and that includes Giffnock. We will be baking and cooking in the store each day and we will be offering an amazing array of fresh, healthy and organic food.

We are also committed to supporting Scottish producers and will be offering a host of products sourced locally. Our unique animal welfare and seafood ranking systems will serve to shine a light on some of the fantastic meat and fish available in Scotland, and we are looking forward to offering great local beers in our refillable flagons.

We want our customers to celebrate the joys of eating and living well and we’ll be inviting the people of Glasgow to change the way they think about and shop for food.”

Whole Foods Market will work with UK contractors, employ a number of local suppliers to develop the new Glasgow store and provide jobs for around 150 local people, including skilled chefs, butchers and bakers.

“We are delighted to welcome Whole Foods Market to East Renfrewshire, particularly as this will be their first store out of London,” said Lord Provost of East Renfrewshire, Alex Mackie. “This is a prestigious brand and it will be a huge boost for shoppers in the Eastwood areas and the local retail economy. I look forward to visiting the new landmark store when it opens.”

The retailer currently has five stores in the Greater London area. The announcement signals the first expansion of Whole Foods Market’s UK business since it opened its Kensington store in 2007.

“We are excited to underscore our commitment to the UK and further invest here with our new Glasgow location,” added Turnas. “It’s always been our ambition to offer our unique brand of fresh and vibrant shopping to as much of the UK population as possible.”

Since the opening of its first store in the US in 1980, Whole Foods Market has been known for its commitment to its stringent quality standards. The grocer offers the highest quality natural and organic foods – all free of artificial flavours, sweeteners, colours, preservatives and hydrogenated fats – with bakery, meats and more prepared fresh in store.