Considered one of the main digital commerce events in Latin America, VTEX Day brings together executives and leaders to discuss the future of retail, technology, and management. And it is precisely this type of content that PagCorp seeks to closely follow: being present at the main events in the country to translate trends into practical learnings for its clients. One of the most anticipated panels of the first day of VTEX Day 2026 was "The Whole Story: How a Local Store Became a Global Consumer Standard," which featured John Mackey, co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods Market, the largest supermarket chain in the USA, and was moderated by Mariano Gomide, founder and co-CEO of VTEX.
From Mackey's speech, what emerges is not just the story of how Whole Foods was built, but a consistent vision of how companies grow sustainably, balancing culture, efficiency, and strategy.
Culture and efficiency go hand in hand.
Looking back on his career, Mackey emphasized that organizational culture is not an abstract concept, but a direct asset to performance. At the heart of this construction are two simple and powerful elements: purpose and a sense of belonging. "People crave two things: purpose and love. When you create an environment where they feel their work makes a difference and that the company truly cares about them, they don't want to leave," he revealed.
Over the decades, Whole Foods has managed to maintain retention levels that are unusual for the retail industry. This didn't come from isolated policies, but from a culture built in practice, with close leadership and constant recognition. Mackey recalled the visits he made to the vast majority of the chain's stores, listening to stories from employees who had grown within the company.
“That’s the most rewarding thing: seeing people join the company, grow, become successful, and have their lives transformed,” he stated, showing that in practice, this translates into less turnover, more productivity, and greater operational consistency, with direct impacts on any financial area.
This same logic of discipline appears when the topic is competitive strategy. For Mackey, competing on price is possible, but it requires a level of operational excellence that is difficult to sustain. "If you're going to compete on price, you need to be obsessed with costs. The only way to sell cheaper is to have the lowest possible operating costs," he revealed.
Companies like Walmart and Costco, other American retail giants, are clear examples of this model, operating with highly efficient structures. Outside of this context, financial control ceases to be merely a support function and becomes a key element in the strategy.
Value, technology and behavior: the new balance
Another central point of the conversation was how Mackey views profit within companies: not as a starting point, but as a consequence of a functioning system. "Profit is like blood in the body: you need it to live, but you don't live to produce it. It's the result of creating value for others," he stated.
This perspective gains even more relevance in a context of accelerated transformation in consumer behavior. As he observed, technology has radically changed the way people live and make decisions: “Before, when I walked around campus, I looked at people. Today, everyone looks at their phones.”
This new scenario demands more agile, data-driven companies that are prepared for constant change, while continuing to respond to fundamental human needs such as health, entertainment, and well-being.
Commenting on the sale of Whole Foods to Amazon, Mackey highlighted how the combination of a strong culture and technology can accelerate results without losing identity. "Amazon understood that Whole Foods had a valuable brand. They didn't try to change that, but they brought a long-term perspective and technology to scale," he revealed.
Leadership and the future: growing by solving real needs.
To maintain this balance, leadership plays a crucial role. Mackey argued that good leaders don't try to be perfect, but build complementary teams. "You need to choose people who complement your weaknesses. I always had vision and passion, but I wasn't strong in operations. So I surrounded myself with people who were," he stated.
This approach allows for more consistent scaling with fewer bottlenecks, a critical point for growing companies.
In the end, the main message of the lecture is simple and direct: successful businesses continue to be those that understand people and find new ways to meet their needs. "There will always be new ways to satisfy human needs. That's why entrepreneurship is so important," Mackey concluded.
Technology, models, and channels change, but the focus on the human element remains. That's why, for PagCorp, keeping up with discussions like this is part of our commitment to transforming major trends into applicable learnings, helping companies evolve their management and make increasingly strategic decisions.
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Images: PagCorp
