Amazon cut whole Foods Market prices by almost 43% after the $13.7 billion takeover — Amazon’s biggest acquisition to date. The upscale brick-and-mortar grocery retailer has over 460 stores and hosts a selection of ‘best-selling grocery staples’. The products that have seen price cuts include bananas (38%), avocados (29%), butter (13%), kale (13%), etc. Amazon has said the price cuts would be rolled out to more products going forward.
Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon said in a statement, “Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades — they are doing an amazing job, and we want that to continue.” The company is also planning to leverage its Prime membership program into the grocery buying habits with this deal.
According to Amazon, John Mackey, Whole Foods’ CEO and co-founder will continue to run the grocery chain. “This partnership presents an opportunity to maximise value for Whole Foods Market’s shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers,” Mackey said in an official statement.
In 2014, the company had acquired video-game service Twitch for $970 million and in 2013, it purchased The Washington Post for $250 million. Bezos has been making moves into offline retail, having recently ventured into book retail with Amazon Books and Amazon Go — a grocery store in Seattle. The company has also invested significant money into a pilot drone delivery program.
By Ananya saha
