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BUSINESS Monday 19 June 2017
A25

Shoppers may see big changes after Amazon buys Whole Foods

its founding in 1978. Whole ly charged. Gartner retail
Foods has seen its sales analyst Robert Hetu said BEYOND FOOD
slump and recently an- Amazon could bring piec- Amazon could also get a
nounced a board shake- es of that to Whole Foods better picture of custom-
up and cost-cutting plan to further cut costs. ers by marrying data from
amid pressure from activist Both companies said there Amazon and Whole Foods’
investor Jana Partners. will be no layoffs, but they loyalty programs. Hetu said
Groceries are already a did not respond to other Amazon could make perti-
fiercely competitive busi- questions about Amazon’s nent offers to attract shop-
ness, with low-cost rivals plans for Whole Foods. pers of one but not the oth-
like Aldi putting pressure Whole Foods will keep er, or get shoppers of both
on traditional supermar- operating stores under its to buy more.
ket chains and another name. In an email to cus- Ryne Misso of the research
discounter, Lidl, opening tomers, the company said firm Market Track said a
its first U.S. stores just this it planned to maintain the customer who buys fresh
A Whole Foods Market purchase awaits placement in a car week. Whole Foods itself same standards under Am- fruit regularly at Whole
trunk, outside the Jackson, Miss., store Friday, June 16, 2017. had launched an offshoot azon, including bans on ar- Foods might be offered
Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a stunning move that gives chain named after its tificial flavors and colors. a deal on blenders and
it hundreds of stores across the U.S., a brand-new laboratory “365” private label brand Whole Foods, often derid- serving bowls. Or some-
for radical retail experiments that could revolutionize the way in a nod to the popularity ed as “Whole Paycheck” one who buys granola bars
people buy groceries. of no-frills chains. for its high prices, could monthly from Whole Foods
(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The Amazon-Whole Foods see its reputation change and paper towels every
By ANICK JESDANUN for $310 million, following a combination, expected if Amazon, a master at other week from Amazon
AP Technology Writer string of online acquisitions to close by the end of the undercutting its brick-and- might be offered the items
NEW YORK (AP) — Ama- such as ModCloth and year, could put even more mortar rivals, passes any in a single shipment, deliv-
zon’s $13.7 billion acquisi- Moosejaw. pressure on those chains savings from automation ered to the door.
tion of Whole Foods could But if Amazon can be the and other big grocery sell- to customers. The Whole Foods deal
mean big changes for the one-stop shop for every- ers. “This might be an oppor- could also get more peo-
way people buy groceries thing — groceries had “Dominant players like tunity for consumers who ple to try grocery delivery,
— and just about every- been one of the key miss- Walmart, Kroger, Costco have felt that Whole Foods something many shoppers
thing else. ing elements — customers and Target now have to is inaccessible,” said Lau- have been hesitant about
Amazon could try to use would have even less of a look over their shoulders ren Beitelspacher, a mar- because of concerns
automation and data need to go to Walmart or at the Amazon train com- keting professor at Babson about meat and produce
analysis to draw more cus- elsewhere. ing down the tracks,” said College in Massachusetts. quality. q
tomers to stores while help- Moody’s lead retail analyst
ing Whole Foods cut costs TOUGH TIMES FOR GRO- Charlie O’Shea.
and perhaps prices. Mean- CERS
while, the more than 460 Amazon already offers TECHNOLOGY TO THE RES-
Whole Foods stores in the grocery-delivery services in CUE
U.S., Canada and the U.K. five markets, but analysts Amazon could try to cut
could be turned into distri- say expansion is tough be- operational costs at Whole
bution hubs — not just for cause its current distribu- Foods by using the same
delivering groceries, but tion centers are set up for types of robots that already
also as pickup centers for dry goods, not perishables. move inventory around at
online orders. Just two years ago, Whole its e-commerce fulfillment
Walmart, which has the Foods CEO John Mackey centers.
largest share of the U.S. told Bloomberg Business- The company also has
food market, has already Week that Amazon’s foray been testing sensors at a
been pushing harder into into grocery delivery would convenience store in Seat-
e-commerce to build on be “Amazon’s Waterloo.” tle to track items as shop-
strength in its stores and But it was Whole Foods that pers put them into baskets
groceries. fell behind as shoppers or return them to the shelf.
It announced Friday that found alternatives to the Shoppers skip the check-
it’s buying online men’s organic and natural foods out line, and their Amazon
clothing retailer Bonobos it helped popularize since accounts get automatical-