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Wild Oats Marketplace history
Wild Oats Marketplace company history timeline
The $300,000 purchase, completed in 1987, thrust the couple into an environment quite different from the junk-food focus of convenience stores, an environment that gradually persuaded Gilliland and Cook to become healthy eaters themselves.
1987: The couple buys the Crystal Market in Boulder, Colorado, and renames it Wild Oats.
By the end of 1991, Gilliland and Cook had opened two other Wild Oats stores in Colorado as well as two in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Another was opened in Albuquerque in early 1992.
1993: Wild Oats becomes the third largest natural foods chain in the United States.
In 1994, Inc. magazine included Wild Oats on its list of the 500 fastest growing small companies.
Despite its rapid expansion, Wild Oats in 1994 was still far behind the nation's top-selling natural foods grocery chain, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Markets.
The merger was completed in July 1996, with Gilliland and Cook owners of 30 percent, investors owning approximately 50 percent, and Wild Oats and Alfalfa's officers owning the other 20 percent.
On October 23, 1996, the company achieved that goal, offering 1.69 million shares of stock on the NASDAQ. Speculation had been high that the stock would soar at the initial public offering, but with an offer price of $25, trading was low and the stock closed the first day at only $25.38.
Then, in mid-January 1997, an analyst downgraded her rating of the company two notches based on information that Whole Foods intended to challenge Wild Oats by opening stores in Boulder, Denver, Santa Fe, and Salt Lake City--traditional Wild Oats territory.
Wild Oats also moved into the Northwest, purchasing two natural food supermarkets in Eugene, Oregon, in March 1997.
Meanwhile, by the end of 1998, rumors appeared in the business press that Whole Foods was ready to acquire Wild Oats.
Sales hit $721 million in 1999, a 36 percent rise over the year previous, and profits too grew 23 percent, to $17.8 million.
By 2000, Wild Oats had grown to over 100 stores.
Without fanfare, Wild Oats named a new president and CEO in March 2001.
Also among the company's early growth plans was the expansion of the Henry's Markets chain, from 12 units to 18 by the end of 2001.
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Wild Oats Marketplace competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh Thyme | 2012 | $254.4M | 1,472 | 242 |
| Niemann Foods | 2005 | $570.0M | 4,000 | - |
| Town & Country Foods | - | $21.9M | 190 | 2 |
| Roberts Crafts | 1963 | $1.6M | 45 | - |
| Colorado Golf Association | 1915 | $5.0M | 20 | 2 |
| Service Merchandise | - | $500,000 | 50 | - |
| BRUNO'S SUPERMARKETS | 1932 | $13.0M | 100 | - |
| Big Bear Sports Center | 1959 | $46.0M | 249 | 3 |
| Petco Holdings, Inc. | 2012 | $4.4B | 25,000 | 1,221 |
| Men | 2016 | $284.9K | 5 | - |
Wild Oats Marketplace history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Wild Oats Marketplace, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Wild Oats Marketplace. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Wild Oats Marketplace. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Wild Oats Marketplace. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Wild Oats Marketplace and its employees or that of Zippia.
Wild Oats Marketplace may also be known as or be related to Wild Oats Foods, LLC, Wild Oats Marketplace and Wild Oats Markets.