SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Amazon has made its biggest acquisition ever: Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. That number includes Whole Foods' net debt:
The deal, expected to close in the second half of this year, gives the e-commerce giant — which has been experimenting with various physical store concepts to make itself a name as a food purveyor — an instant expanse of 460 high-end brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S., in Canada and in the U.K.
Whole Foods, which made its name retailing organic and fresh products, had been struggling recently amid stepped-up competition from Costco Wholesale, Trader Joe's and other grocers.
Shares of Whole Foods rose ahead of the acquisition while analysts speculated that other grocery retailers would snap up Whole Foods to keep it away from Amazon, or at least drive up the price.
Groceries are low margin and high cost businesses. This acquisition may be seen as part of a long-running war between Amazon and Walmart.
Will the shelves of Whole Paycheck be stocked by Amazonk's mighty robotic Prometheans? I think I'll shop at ALDI instead.
Previously: Walmart Plays Catch-Up With Amazon
Walmart Kills Amazon Prime-like Service, Expands Free Shipping
Amazon Shuts Down Diapers.com as Founder Runs Walmart's E-Commerce Operations
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 17 2017, @10:49AM (1 child)
Northern California Olliver's Market and local shops is the place to go now that Whole Foods will be ruined?
(Score: 2) by edIII on Monday June 19 2017, @07:12PM
Some of my family had shopped at Whole Foods, but every time I went the prices were so fucking ridiculous I couldn't understand how they could stay in business. They did, and still do, have some nice products that aren't in regular grocery stores. They are facing more competition for those products now from Safeway. Gluten free used to be something that only Whole Foods catered towards, now it is everyone. Now with Amazon buying out Whole Foods, whatever wholesome local image they may have had is now destroyed and replaced by Amazon's robotic corporate profit-above-all image.
As for the quality of their vegetables, who gives a shit at those prices. Olliver's competes with them on that, but the local farmer's markets kills all of them. High quality fruits, veggies, and meat are available there, and I would rather give my money to local farmers than Big Ag. That's for what I'm not getting in my garden already.
Olliver's is a premium store, and higher prices, but is at least local and helps the community out. Whole Foods just helps out some shareholders that give a fuck about nobody except money, which they hold up as their God. I don't even think that they have any programs designed to give back to local communities, and with Amazon now owning them, I'm sure they won't.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.