John Mackey co-founded Whole Foods Market’s predecessor, Safer Way Natural Foods, in Austin, Texas, in 1978. From the time it was called Whole Foods in 1980 to now, the company has grown from 19 employees to over 72,000. It has 344 stores in the U.S., Canada & UK with $11.7 billion in revenues as of FY 2012. The company’s stock has soared more than 23% in the last year and is up nearly 140% in the last five. Continue reading