New Whole Foods Investor Thinks Amazon Or Kroger Should Buy The Struggling Company

Whole Foods sales have been plummeting for the past six quarters, leading analysts to worry that the struggling organic grocery store chain may need to do something drastic to get back on top again. Jana Partners — an activist Whole Food investor — is determined to turn the grocery chain's success rate around. Jana has said that Whole Foods shares are undervalued due to "chronic underperformance" and subtle setbacks in daily operations that affect the bottom line.

Investors argue that Whole Foods doesn't offer anything unique enough to keep up with competitors. It used to be the king of organic groceries, but now even Costco has jumped on the health and sustainability bandwagon. It doesn't help that Whole Foods has encountered a slew of bad press that paints it as out-of-touch or as a parody of itself, like the asparagus water gaffe and the questionable introduction of vegetable butchers.

One option for Whole Foods is acquisition by a major corporation like Amazon or Kroger. An anonymous source confirmed with the Chicago Tribune that Amazon had been toying with the idea of making an offer to buy Whole Foods but the plans never became concrete enough to reach the public sphere. Whole Foods has an estimated market value of $10.7 billion, which would be a steep acquisition even for an e-commerce giant like Amazon.