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Whole Foods Sells Henry’s Operation to Smart & Final

Whole Foods Market Inc. completed the sale of its 35 Henry’s Farmers Market and Sun Harvest Market stores to a subsidiary of Los Angeles grocer Smart & Final Inc. on Oct. 2.

The Austin, Texas-based company sold its two operations to Smart & Final for $166 million, including a distribution facility in Riverside.

Sun Harvest stores are located in Texas, and Henry’s are located in California, with 15 stores in San Diego County.

While ownership has changed, the name and concept will remain the same for Henry’s, according to Smart & Final spokesman Randall Oliver.

“Our plans are to continue under the existing names and formats,” he said. “Overall what you’ve seen is the model that you’re going to get going forward, including the focus on natural and organic and lots of produce.”

The sale of Henry’s was the result of Whole Foods’ bid to acquire Henry’s parent Wild Oats for about $565 million. Wild Oats was Whole Foods’ main rival in the natural grocery business.

Whole Foods said it was selling the Henry’s stores because they didn’t fit in with the company’s real estate and brand strategies in the long term.

According to Whole Foods, Henry’s and Sun Harvest accounted for about 30 percent of Wild Oats’ yearly revenue, which totaled about $1.2 billion last year.

Wild Oats acquired the Henry’s chain from the Boney family in 1999.

Oliver said current Henry’s employees will be staying on with the new company.

The plan is to eventually expand the Henry’s brand by opening up new locations, he added.

Whole Foods’ stock is traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol WFMI.

, Liz Wiedemann

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