// Whole Foods profits nosedived last year while shoppers cut costs on their grocery shop
// The organic supermarket saw a pre-tax loss of £26.3m from just seven of its stores across London
Amazon-owned Whole Foods’ UK division plunged to a record loss last year, as shoppers cut costs amid sky-high inflation.
The upmarket grocer reported a pre-tax loss of £26.3m from its seven supermarkets, which are all located in London, while its sales dropped 2.9% to £91.6m.
Whole Foods was originally a US-based supermarket, which began as a single store in Austin, Texas. The retailer opened its first store in the UK in Kensington in 2007.
Amazon bought the organic supermarket back in 2017 for $13.7 billion (£10.8 billion). Since that time, the UK arm of Whole Foods has not made any profit, and has racked up cumulative pre-tax losses of £70.5m.
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Whole Foods is known for its higher-quality groceries, but demand for the ethically sourced goods has dropped as prices have surged.
It is not the only organic food store to have been hit amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Planet Organic plunged into administration earlier this year. It was rescued in April by Bioren, whose shareholders include the founders of the organic supermarket chain Renée and Brian Elliott, however four of its 10 stores closed.
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