Will Wal-Mart, Safeway organics hurt Whole Foods?

Whole Foods has been a great investment in recent years, but the Big Boys of retailing are moving into natural/organic product lines. Will Whole Foods, food co-ops, Wild Oats and other natural outlets get hammered?

TheStreet's Jim Cramer weighs in.

I'd have to back Cramer on this one. Here's a little comparison. When Blockbuster and Wal-Mart decided to take on little Netflix with cheaper rentals and no late fees, nervous nellies hammered Netflix stock. Guess what? Netflix took over Wal-Mart's video operation, and Blockbuster got somethings besides its block busted.

The reason: Netflix knows and curries its audience. Same with Whole Foods. Cramer mentions affluent clientele but that's not the real story. I shop in Whole Foods (full disclosure: am also an investor) and see all walks of life there because of the Paul Principle: The more quality a product delivers, the less its price matters.

The people who shop at Whole Foods are not necessarily the elite. They simply want the best return on their dollar. That's why every Whole Foods shopper smiles when he or she calls it Whole Paycheck.

— Paul Andrews, GreenForGood

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