08-17-2009, 02:34 AM
I'm not familiar with Whole Foods, but I don't think their business is dependent upon the celebrity and views of their CEO. In truth, I doubt many of their customers would even know his name. And the ones who read WSJ would hardly find his views extreme. Bottom line, he might lose a few political activists as customers, but this boycott will go nowhere.
Outside of Donald Trump and Bill Gates, not many CEOs are listened to or cared about in any way by the general populous. Singer/songwriters are perhaps the most personally connected to their customers of anyone who does national business, because they have fans who listen to the music for the artists' insights in lyrical form, along with dressing like them, gossiping about them, and all the normal celebrity crap. It's very different from your typical CEO. But I imagine the Dixie Chicks are doing OK all the same.
Outside of Donald Trump and Bill Gates, not many CEOs are listened to or cared about in any way by the general populous. Singer/songwriters are perhaps the most personally connected to their customers of anyone who does national business, because they have fans who listen to the music for the artists' insights in lyrical form, along with dressing like them, gossiping about them, and all the normal celebrity crap. It's very different from your typical CEO. But I imagine the Dixie Chicks are doing OK all the same.