Amazon buying Whole Foods

[IronWing]

I can sort of see it as Whole Foods carries high margin merchandise which would appeal to Bezos. Just wondering if Amazon is going to get bogged down running the chain. Also wonder if Amazon is going to bring their labor policies to Whole Foods which would kill the chain.

 

[lxskllr]

Never been in a Whole Foods. There's one semi close, but I'd have to deal with city traffic to get to it. Not worth it. Wegmans and the local natural shop are sufficient for premium groceries.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I went to a whole foods once and was terribly disapointed. Not sure how they can stay in business with their prices so high.

 

[IronWing]

I went to a whole foods once and was terribly disapointed. Not sure how they can stay in business with their prices so high.

I'm a wonderful person. I know this because I buy premium goods. Premium goods are made just for wonderful people, like me. So what if it costs more? As a wonderful person, the higher cost only reflects the premium I place on myself.

Edit: I actually shopped there twice this week. There are some items I can't buy anywhere else in town.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I buy "premium" goods too, 2 ply TP FTW!

 

[ImpulsE69]

Never been in a whole foods.

 

[Humpy]

Also wonder if Amazon is going to bring their labor policies to Whole Foods which would kill the chain.

The location I shopped at was great because of the people that worked there. Friendly, happy employees that would remember you and have conversations with you. They all clearly cared about their store and their customers, which seems shockingly rare, and is probably the main reason we went there.

Amazon has to be careful not to ruin a good thing.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Probably a bid to capture customers that won't pushback on high prices. I think the bloom is off the Whole Foods rose though.

AFAIC, Whole Foods is but a distant rumor. I've never encountered one in existence.

 

[KentState]

Instant supply chain for their Amazon Fresh marketplace.

 

[K1052]

This was posted on Twitter..

Bezos: Alexa, buy me something from Whole Foods.

Alexa: Sure, Jeff. Buying Whole Foods now.

Bezos: WHA- ahh go ahead.

 

[blackangst1]

This was posted on Twitter..

Bezos: Alexa, buy me something from Whole Foods.

Alexa: Sure, Jeff. Buying Whole Foods now.

Bezos: WHA- ahh go ahead.

PERFECT!

 

[Mai72]

I went to a whole foods once and was terribly disapointed. Not sure how they can stay in business with their prices so high.

Look at where most are located?

Most Whole Foods are located in well to do neighborhoods. 3 bag of groceries are like $250. It's why you'd never see a Whole Foods in poor/middle class cities.

 

[Mai72]

The location I shopped at was great because of the people that worked there. Friendly, happy employees that would remember you and have conversations with you. They all clearly cared about their store and their customers, which seems shockingly rare, and is probably the main reason we went there.

Amazon has to be careful not to ruin a good thing.

In the long term Amazon wants a store that can manage itself. Self checkout. No lines. No waiting. Nothing.

Just go in. Scan your Amazon app. Grab your groceries and go! That's it. That means less workers. Not now, hut in 5 years it's very possible.

 

[tynopik]

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/amaz...whole-foods-cashiers-with-computers--yet.html

Amazon won't replace Whole Foods cashiers with computers... yet


https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/06/16/amazon-buy-whole-foods-market-137-billion/102912266/

The deal requires approval by Whole Foods' shareholders and regulators. The companies expect the deal to be completed in the second half of 2017. Amazon has to pay Whole Foods $400 million if the deal is not completed.

Doesn't that just give Whole Foods a great incentive to sabotage the deal?

https://news.slashdot.org/story/17/06/16/1347210/amazon-to-buy-whole-foods-market-for-137-billion

Amazon has dabbled in brick-and-mortar operations, experimenting with a bookstore that opened in New York last month and plans to open "no-checkout" convenience stores. But the Whole Foods acquisition represents a dramatic departure from its early business model founded on online retailing and related technology. Grocery retail is a notoriously thin-profit-margin business. And Whole Foods -- often derided as "Whole Paycheck" -- has struggled in recent years to keep up with emerging competitors that are expanding nationwide with cheaper items. Traditional grocery stores have also widened their organic food selections in hopes of retaining customers who are increasingly looking to eat healthily.

that ties in neatly with their other recent news, Amazon Granted a Patent That Prevents In-Store Shoppers From Online Price Checking

Amazon's long been a go-to for people to online price compare while shopping at brick-and-mortars. Now, a new patent granted to the company could prevent people from doing just that inside Amazon's own stores. The patent, titled "Physical Store Online Shopping Control," details a mechanism where a retailer can intercept network requests like URLs and search terms that happen on its in-store Wi-Fi, then act upon them in various ways. The document details in great length how a retailer like Amazon would use this information to its benefit. If, for example, the retailer sees you're trying to access a competitor's website to price check an item, it could compare the requested content to what's offered in-store and then send price comparison information or a coupon to your browser instead. Or it could suggest a complementary item, or even block content outright. Amazon's patent also lets the retailer know your physical whereabouts, saying, "the location may be triangulated utilizing information received from a multitude of wireless access points." The retailer can then use this information to try and upsell you on items in your immediate area or direct a sales representative to your location.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Look at where most are located?

Most Whole Foods are located in well to do neighborhoods. 3 bag of groceries are like $250. It's why you'd never see a Whole Foods in poor/middle class cities.

In same upper middle class area as the Whole Foods near my commute is Trader Joes, Aldi, Walmart, Target, Costco, and a Jewel-Osco ....

My problem is that Whole foods sells the same organic stuff as anybody else selling organic stuff .. but they charge a premium for identical product. They simply pad their margins.

 

[K1052]

In same upper middle class area as the Whole Foods near my commute is Trader Joes, Aldi, Walmart, Target, Costco, and a Jewel-Osco ....

My problem is that Whole foods sells the same organic stuff as anybody else selling organic stuff .. but they charge a premium for identical product. They simply pad their margins.

One thing I always shop at the local WFs for is tomatoes. All the above stores have shit tomatoes, once in a while Jewel will have Mighty Vines but rarely. They're awesome and local.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I'm trying to imagine something that might impact my life less than this...

Nope. Can't come up with anything.

 

[Red Storm]

In same upper middle class area as the Whole Foods near my commute is Trader Joes, Aldi, Walmart, Target, Costco, and a Jewel-Osco ....

My problem is that Whole foods sells the same organic stuff as anybody else selling organic stuff .. but they charge a premium for identical product. They simply pad their margins.

Some people pay more to avoid certain stores. A lot of people avoid Walmart simply because of the types of people who go there. I would say the same is true of Whole Foods.

We go to Trader Joes when we need stuff, but our TJ is rather small, and literally half the store is wine, so the actual selection isn't very big. So we end up shopping across a variety of places, including Whole Foods.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Some people pay more to avoid certain stores. A lot of people avoid Walmart simply because of the types of people who go there. I would say the same is true of Whole Foods.

We go to Trader Joes when we need stuff, but our TJ is rather small, and literally half the store is wine, so the actual selection isn't very big. So we end up shopping across a variety of places, including Whole Foods.

I hate going to Walmart because of the lines! Target has short lines usually and prices & inventory are comparable.

One thing I always shop at the local WFs for is tomatoes. All the above stores have shit tomatoes, once in a while Jewel will have Mighty Vines but rarely. They're awesome and local.

We have tomatos growing in our yard, otherwise the woman or her mom will buy them from a farmers market or farmstand over in rural Mchenry or Lake County.

 

[nakedfrog]

The Whole Foods I went to the other day had a decent beer selection, and prices were on par with other stores in the area ($9 for a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter, $15 for a four pack of Weyerbacher bourbon barrel aged something or other).

 

[ultimatebob]

I think that this merger is genius. The same suckers or rich people who are willing to pay $5 a pound for organic tomatoes or $20 a pound for grass fed steaks at Whole Foods are the same type of people would pay $25 a month for Amazon Prime Fresh grocery delivery.

Hell... when they finally get that guaranteed 1 hour drone delivery system down pat, I'm sure that a bunch of those same people would be willing to pay for that as well.

 

[IronWing]

I think that this merger is genius. The same suckers or insanely rich people who are willing to pay $5 a pound for organic tomatoes at Whole Foods are the same type of people would pay $25 a month for Amazon Prime Fresh grocery delivery.

Hell... when they finally get that guaranteed 1 hour drone delivery system down pat, I'm sure that a bunch of those same people would be willing to pay for that as well.

$25/month grocery delivery? Is that one delivery/month or like whenever I want something times a month. Because $25/month for the later would be a steal as I live ten miles from the nearest grocery store.

 

[ultimatebob]

$25/month grocery delivery? Is that one delivery/month or like whenever I want something times a month. Because $25/month for the later would be a steal as I live ten miles from the nearest grocery store.

Their website says that it's "free" shipping for orders under $40 once you've paid for $11 a month for Prime and $15 a month for the Fresh add-on.

 

[jpiniero]

I think that this merger is genius. The same suckers or rich people who are willing to pay $5 a pound for organic tomatoes or $20 a pound for grass fed steaks at Whole Foods are the same type of people would pay $25 a month for Amazon Prime Fresh grocery delivery.

The funny thing is that Amazon is paying for it by via their ridiculously overvalued stock. Amazon is getting distribution centers in the highest income areas of the US for literally funny money.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

That's just Being Smart (TM) though. Y'know, like tax evasion.