Whole Foods Shares Fall as Organic-Food Competition Hurts Sales
- Grocer posts fourth consecutive same-store sales decline
- Company looking to new 365 chain to help reignite growth
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Whole Foods Market Inc. shares slumped the most in almost a year after third-quarter sales missed analysts’ estimates, a sign the organic-food chain is struggling to fend off new competition from mainstream supermarkets.
Same-store sales fell 2.6 percent in the period, which ended July 3, the Austin, Texas-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. That was the fourth consecutive quarterly decline. Analysts had predicted a 2.4 percent slide.