When Amazon bought Whole Foods, I predicted this was not going to work out well for Amazon. Pissing off employees, vendors and customers from the get-go is never a good idea.
Someone is going to start up a competing business modeled after the Whole Foods concept and take their business. What happens if those more popular vendors create a co-op and open up a small stores in nice strip malls and sell only non-perishable goods.
Those nonperishable goods can easily be sold on line. Would be kind of ironic if they sold them on Amazon where Prime members can get free shipping.
Would not be surprised if Amazon sells off Whole Foods at a serious discount within two years.
I would concur.
Amazon is for cheap and fast soft goods... at a macro level.
Whole Foods doesn’t really fit Amazon... lots of niche items at high prices... and not enough real estate to create the infrastructure to deliver groceries in a rapid time frame.
Walmart is getting smarter and smarter online... if they start converting stores into internet delivery hubs... they could quickly beat amazon on price and speed.
If that happens... Amazon could be in trouble.
I would be very surprised.
“Amazon Fresh” is Amazon's grocery home delivery business, which started just a couple miles from my house about 10 years ago.
It is now a self-sustaining international business, and every major grocery chain in the USA has copied it.
Amazon Fresh trucks and drivers and computer system are also the core from which Amazon is building its general delivery business.
I don't know if they will ever be profitable, but I'll guess that Bezos plans to build the first fleet of driverless trucks in the world before he retires.
WalMart is doing this.