Whole Foods Co-CEO Says Grocer Wants To Open 40 More Stores In Canada

MONTREAL – U.S. grocer Whole Foods Market Inc. says it could open 40 or more stores and eventually tally $1-billion in annual sales in Canada as part of a wider expansion that continues unabated.

“By the time we actually get to the place of being able to open those stores, I expect the market will continue to evolve,” company co-chief executive John Mackey told reporters at the C2-Mtl conference Wednesday. “So it probably is more than that.”

He declined to provide an exact timeline for the expansion.

Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods’ goals for Canada are ambitious considering it has only 9 stores here currently, all of them in B.C. and Ontario. The company, which is the largest U.S. natural and organic supermarket chain, is scouting for a location in Montreal, Mr. Mackey said.

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