AUSTIN, Texas -- Strong same-store sales helped Whole Foods Market here achieve record sales of $97.4 million in the third quarter ended July 3.
0% in the quarter. Excluding the company's Mrs. Gooch's units, which were damaged in the Los Angeles earthquake last January, same-store sales increased 14%.
Whole Foods also said same-store sales at one store in Chicago were strong in spite of the opening of a nearby Fresh Fields store. Fresh Fields, Rockville, Md., is a major competitor.
Christopher Vroom, a securities analyst at Alex. Brown & Sons, Baltimore, said Whole Foods' per-share earnings were in line with expectations. Operating profit increased 23%, he said.
