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Talk of the bay

By TIMES WIRES
Published February 22, 2007

Whole foods satisfies taste for wild oats

Organic/gourmet food fanciers who have been yearning for Whole Foods Market to get to the Tampa Bay area won't be waiting much longer. The chain, based in Austin, Tex., on Wednesday agreed to buy Wild Oats Markets Inc., of Boulder, Colo., a rival with a store in Walters Crossing in Tampa. Whole Foods is paying about $700-million in stock and assumed debt for the 110-store Wild Oats. The names will change to Whole Foods over the next two years. Whole Foods operates 191 stores that generated $5.6-billion in revenues in 2006, almost five times the revenues of Wild Oats in less than twice the floor space. The deal will increase Whole Foods' Florida presence to 14 stores from eight.

HSN puts a pool in the back yard

Marketing research experts say Americans now furnish their outdoor patios like extra rooms at their homes. So HSN built a full-fledged concrete swimming pool complete with stone deck and a screened-in birdcage in the back yard of its St. Petersburg studios. The patio, pool and facade of a home exterior will become the TV shopping network's set for selling grills, patio furniture, outdoor lamps and swimwear this spring. A decade ago, HSN stepped outdoors to a makeshift dock built by a drainage lake in the parking lot. Producers learned Florida gets pretty steamy under all those studio lights. This time the far more expensive set is permanent and protected by a roof outfitted with ceiling fans and air-conditioning ducts. The pool, all of 3 feet deep, is part of HSN chief executive Mindy Grossman's attempts to add program spontaneity. Coming next: studio audiences for live cooking shows to introduce three celebrity chefs beginning March 17. Look out Food Network.

Investor yanks underdog's chain

ErinMedia has postponed plans to be the snippy underdog that took a bite from top dog Nielsen Media Research. St. Petersburg businessman Frank Maggio created erinMedia to top Nielsen, based in Oldsmar, at the TV rating's game. But Nielsen's launch of DigitalPlus, a technology akin to Maggio's set-top box, forced erinMedia investor Spark Capital to withdraw $25-million in start-up capital. ErinMedia laid off most of its employees. Maggio is pursuing a lawsuit alleging Nielsen is a monopoly.

Industry in crisis

Learn about the problems facing insurance companies in Florida at tampabay.com/insurance.

[Last modified February 22, 2007, 01:49:52]