Prices can have a negative impact on the firm's bottom line results. This is occurring through increasing costs on the wholesale level and tremendous amounts of discounting. Over the course of time, these factors can hurt the company's earnings and ability to maintain their competitive position. ("Global Food Retailing Industry," 2013) (Burch, 2007) ("Annual Stakeholders Reports," 2012) Recommendation

Clearly, ABC should integrate with Whole Foods. This will allow the company to maintain its market share and augment the products they are selling into the firm's strategy. At the same time, the management team could help Whole Foods to more effectively address the challenges they are facing from: increased competition and pricing. This will enable both firms to take advantage of each other's cost structure and create a unique atmosphere which is offering everyone with more. These factors are the keys for ensuing that they can remain economically viable and continue to evolve with new challenges over the long-term. (Burch, 2007) ("Annual Stakeholders Reports," 2012)

References

2011 Supermarket...

(2011). Seeking Alpha. Retrieved from: http://seekingalpha.com/article/247930-2011-supermarket-trends-good-for-food-manufacturers-and-retailers-tough-for-consumers
Annual Stakeholders Reports. (2012). Whole Foods Market. Retrieved from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/sites/default/files/media/Global/Company%20Info/PDFs/2012-WFM_Annual_Report.pdf

Company Info. (2013). Whole Foods Market. Retrieved from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company-info#

Global Food Retailing Industry. (2013). Reporter Link. Retrieved from: http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02212/Food-Retailing.html

Sustainability and Our Future. (2013). Whole Foods Market. Retrieved from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/core-values/sustainability-and-our-future

Burch, D. (2009). Supermarkets and Agri-Food Supply Chains. North Hampton, MA: Edward Elgar. http://books.google.com/books?id=eFRuKRf8VVoC&pg=PA269&dq=food+retailing+sector+in+U.S.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YmSSUcfXNZTlyAH6rIDgAQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=food%20retailing%20sector%20in%20US&f=false