Exhibit 99.2
WHOLE FOODS MARKET ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN SALARY CAP AND CEO COMPENSATION
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Whole Foods Market, Inc.
(Nasdaq: WFMI) today announced that its Board of Directors approved an increase
in the Company's salary cap for 2006 and future years from 14 times to 19 times
the average pay of all full-time team members employed during the applicable
year. For 2006, this means the salary cap will be approximately $608,000.
The salary cap is a limit on total cash compensation paid to any team member
in any calendar year. Employee benefits, stock options and non-cash 401(k)
contributions are not counted in determining and applying the salary cap. The
following is the salary cap calculation for the Company's past eight years:
Average Annual Average Salary
Year Hourly Wage Wage Multiple Cap
------------ ------------ --------- --------- ---------
1999 $ 12.36 $ 25,709 10 $ 257,000
2000 $ 12.84 $ 26,707 14 $ 373,900
2001 $ 13.46 $ 27,997 14 $ 391,900
2002 $ 13.69 $ 28,479 14 $ 398,700
2003 $ 14.07 $ 29,266 14 $ 409,700
2004 $ 14.66 $ 30,493 14 $ 426,900
2005 $ 15.00 $ 31,200 14 $ 436,800
2006 $ 15.38 $ 31,990 19 $ 607,800
This is the third time the Company has increased its salary cap since the
cap was created 20 years ago. Originally set at eight times the average pay, the
cap was raised to 10 times the average pay in the early 1990s and to 14 times
the average pay in 2000.
"We are raising the salary cap for one reason -- to make the compensation of
our key executives more competitive in the marketplace and help ensure their
retention," said John Mackey, chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder
of Whole Foods Market.
Additionally, the Company announced that John Mackey will reduce his salary
to $1 beginning January 1, 2007 and forgo any future stock option awards. Mr.
Mackey will continue to receive the same benefits that all team members receive,
including the food discount card and health insurance.
"I continue to work for Whole Foods not because of the money I can make but
because of the pleasure I get from leading such a great company, and the ongoing
passion I have to help make the world a better place, which Whole Foods is
continuing to do," said Mr. Mackey. "I am now 53 years old, and I have reached a
place in my life where I no longer want to work for money, but simply for the
joy of the work itself and to better answer the call to service that I feel so
clearly in my own heart."
"In view of John's decision to forgo future additional cash compensation,
the Board of Directors has decided that Whole Foods Market will contribute
$100,000 annually to a new Global Team Member Emergency Fund, which will be
distributed to team members as needed when disasters occur," said Dr. John
Elstrott, lead director of Whole Foods Market. "The Board also intends to donate
all stock options Mr. Mackey would have been eligible to receive in the future
to Whole Foods Market's two foundations -- The Whole Planet Foundation and The
Animal Compassion Foundation -- in honor of John's commitment to those causes."
Approximately 93% of the options granted under Whole Foods Market's 1992
Incentive Stock Option Plan have been granted to team members who are not
executive officers. In fiscal year 2006, Mr. Mackey received 4,729 stock
options.
About Whole Foods Market: Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods
Market(R) is a Fortune 500 company and the largest natural and organic foods
retailer. The Company had sales of $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2006 and
currently has 188 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information
contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which could
cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the
forward looking statements. These risks include but are not limited to general
business conditions, the timely development and opening of new stores, the
impact of competition, and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company's SEC reports, including the reports on Form 10-K and 10-K/A Amendment
No. 1 for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2005. The Company does not
undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Contact: Cindy McCann
VP of Investor Relations
512.542.0204
SOURCE Whole Foods Market, Inc.
-0- 11/02/2006
/CONTACT: Cindy McCann, VP of Investor Relations of Whole Foods Market,
Inc., +1-512-542-0204/
/Web site: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com /
(WFMI)