Walmart to offer Organic Line of Food at Discount Prices

Walmart to Offer Organic Line of Food at Discount Prices

        This article was an interesting read because I wasn't aware that Walmart was going to start selling organic food. Walmart is looking to sell organic food at discount prices and this is a very bold move because it could potentially hurt other brand-name organic competitors. This will send shock waves throughout the organic market. This article talks about how Walmart will manage the prices for their organic products over the next few years and how they will slowly introduce their products and not just hit the entire national market at once.

        Walmart is the nation's largest retailer and grocer so they have a lot of power. They will offer their organic line of food for a similar price as nonorganic brand-name goods. Their products will be sold cheaper than their organic brand-name competitors which can cause an undercut for them by at least 25%. This can be very dangerous to organic competitors because they will start losing their sales to Walmart. Over the next few years, Walmart is likely to raise their prices for their organic ingredients. These prices are already rising because of the fast-growing consumer demand. In 2002, organic food accounted for $8 billion in sales, and in 2012 its sales were $29 billion.

        Walmart will slowly begin to introduce their organic products, and they will start with the Wild Oats label. They will introduce Wild Oats at 2,000 stores in the coming months, and then introduce it to the rest of the country. The reason they only opened half of the stores instead of hitting the entire national market at once, is because they were concerned  about supply. They didn't want to open too many stores and then not be able to supply all of them.

Elizabeth A. Harris, Stephanie Strom. "Walmart to Offer Organic Line of Food at Discount Prices."         New York Times, 10 Apr. 2014. Web.