Whole Foods annouces plan to regain sales and reverse stock plunge

Earlier this week Whole Foods announced several major changes in an effort to reverse poor results and a sagging stock price. The changes include new board appointments as well as a plan to slash costs and regain sales and earnings momentum.

Initiatives include the following:

• Accelerating an affinity loyalty rollout to all U.S. stores
• Completion of an effort to restructure its purchasing program by the end of 2017
• Implementation of chain-wide category management by the end of the 2018 fiscal year
• Cost savings of $300 million by the end of the 2020 fiscal year by standardizing in-store processes and better allocation of labor, support function efficiencies, and supply chain optimization

In addition, the company announced the appointment of five new independent directors to its board, and named former Kohl's executive Keith Manbeck as CFO.