Amazon to acquire Whole Foods

[wakka]

Wowza


www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170616005338/en/Amazon-Acquire-Foods-Market

[calamity]

Huh. I didn't see that one coming!

[konapoppy]

I really want to hate this on principle, but if it means wf will deliver while I am on leave I am all for it lol.

[mrsd2006]

Woah.

[2curlydogs]

[redheadbaker]

I don't know how I feel about this.

[WanderingWinoZ]

Jun 16, 2017 8:15:03 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

that was my initial reaction- they are trying to go local & compete with Walmart & all the grocery stores.

WE have Amazon NOW in Houston & they are starting to use their own drivers for regular amazon deliveries instead of UPS/USPS for stuff.  

Plus they need places for their drone army to launch

[lingome]

As a regular Whole Foods shopper I don't like it. Amazon can does a mediocre and ethically questionable job of running their current business.

[2curlydogs]

Jun 16, 2017 8:20:39 GMT -5 lingome said:

As a regular Whole Foods shopper I don't like it. Amazon can does a mediocre and ethically questionable job of running their current business.

And Whole Foods is a paragon of ethics.  ^o)

[kadams767]

Jun 16, 2017 8:20:39 GMT -5 lingome said:

As a regular Whole Foods shopper I don't like it. Amazon can does a mediocre and ethically questionable job of running their current business.

In stark contrast to Whole Foods? 

[mskitkat]

With the subsidized Amazon prime for low income people, could this be really good for people in food deserts? Honest question.

[pixy0stix]

Jun 16, 2017 8:40:00 GMT -5 mskitkat said:

With the subsidized Amazon prime for low income people, could this be really good for people in food deserts? Honest question.

I doubt it. Are people thinking that fresh veggies will start being shipped?

[mskitkat]

Jun 16, 2017 8:43:25 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:40:00 GMT -5 mskitkat said:

With the subsidized Amazon prime for low income people, could this be really good for people in food deserts? Honest question.

I doubt it. Are people thinking that fresh veggies will start being shipped?

That was my first thought. Amazon's distribution power with Whole Foods sourcing. I know nothing about anything though, which is why I asked.

[eclaires]

Amazon also recently launched some Amazon cash situation thing MH was telling me about. It sounds like it is aimed at people with no access to credit or debit cards.

[JRo]

Jun 16, 2017 8:43:25 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:40:00 GMT -5 mskitkat said:

With the subsidized Amazon prime for low income people, could this be really good for people in food deserts? Honest question.

I doubt it. Are people thinking that fresh veggies will start being shipped?

Isn't that what Amazon Fresh already does? (It isn't available in my area, so I'm not absolutely positive, but I think that's what they do.)

[pixy0stix]

Jun 16, 2017 8:48:14 GMT -5 JRo said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:43:25 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I doubt it. Are people thinking that fresh veggies will start being shipped?

Isn't that what Amazon Fresh already does? (It isn't available in my area, so I'm not absolutely positive, but I think that's what they do.)

Don't know because I haven't tried it. I don't even know if it's in my area. That being said, if it's not reaching everywhere, it won't reach food deserts.

[juliej]

Jun 16, 2017 8:45:00 GMT -5 mskitkat said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:43:25 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I doubt it. Are people thinking that fresh veggies will start being shipped?

That was my first thought. Amazon's distribution power with Whole Foods sourcing. I know nothing about anything though, which is why I asked.

They've already got AmazonFresh in larger markets, so it's not necessarily a stretch to think that owning Whole Foods is a quick way to expand that program.

[raangoli]

Jun 16, 2017 8:14:04 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

I really want to hate this on principle, but if it means wf will deliver while I am on leave I am all for it lol.

This was my thought as well. Although apparently my local one does if you order over a certain amount?

[5thofjuly]

We use Amazon Prime Now for fresh food delivery from our local market. It's free delivery and is coming to us from the supermarket next to the Amazon hub which is about 35 minutes away. While it wouldn't solve the food desert problem, most likely, in rural areas, it could definitely solve the urban food desert problem for many people who don't have good access to a car or public transportation but need fresh items.

[juliej]

Jun 16, 2017 8:54:46 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:14:04 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

I really want to hate this on principle, but if it means wf will deliver while I am on leave I am all for it lol.

This was my thought as well. Although apparently my local one does if you order over a certain amount?

We get Whole Foods delivery locally through Instacart – it's nice because while other stores Instacart uses mark up product prices to cover the service costs, Whole Foods' prices are the same as in store, so the $5.99 delivery fee is worth it for the convenience of not having to actually go to the store. I wonder if their arrangement with Instacart will end as part of the Amazon deal. 

Or, alternately... I wonder if Amazon buys Instacart.

[2curlydogs]

Jun 16, 2017 8:57:18 GMT -5 rvan0905 said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:23:35 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

And Whole Foods is a paragon of ethics. 

I missed the CEP ruining of WFs.  Can I get a recap or a nod in the right research direction?
SaveSave

Mackey's a "free-market libertarian".

Anti-union
Anti-Obamacare 
Climate change skeptic

ETA: I don't boycott it (though the one nearest my house is a half hour drive, so no. I support our local small co-op instead). But I'll also side-eye any suggestion that it's somehow better than Amazon.

[shauni27]

Jun 16, 2017 9:04:03 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Jun 16, 2017 8:57:18 GMT -5 rvan0905 said:

I missed the CEP ruining of WFs.  Can I get a recap or a nod in the right research direction?
SaveSave

Mackey's a "free-market libertarian".

Anti-union
Anti-Obamacare 
Climate change skeptic

ETA: I don't boycott it (though the one nearest my house is a half hour drive, so no. I support our local small co-op instead). But I'll also side-eye any suggestion that it's somehow better than Amazon.

I also remember them implementing a plan for their workers who had a certain BMI to get better benefits. jezebel.com/5456561/weigh-less-pay-less-whole-foods-offers-discount-based-on-bmi

[Deleted]

Between Amazon, the Washington Post, and now Whole Foods, basically my entire paycheck should just be signed over go Jeff Bezos. Got it.

[jenikate]

Jun 16, 2017 9:11:40 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Jun 16, 2017 9:04:03 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Mackey's a "free-market libertarian".

Anti-union
Anti-Obamacare 
Climate change skeptic

ETA: I don't boycott it (though the one nearest my house is a half hour drive, so no. I support our local small co-op instead). But I'll also side-eye any suggestion that it's somehow better than Amazon.

I also remember them implementing a plan for their workers who had a certain BMI to get better benefits. jezebel.com/5456561/weigh-less-pay-less-whole-foods-offers-discount-based-on-bmi

It was for a tiered discount card. The next year they added a waist to height ratio in addition the the BMI so you could use the one that worked best for you.

[Vespasia]

Damn, I sort of wish I still had all my employee-purchased stock from @2000. I sold it a few years ago after forgetting I even had it for about 10 years.

[laurenpetro]

I am not comfortable with how large amazon is getting.

[y4m]

Jun 16, 2017 9:49:08 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

I am not comfortable with how large amazon is getting.

I think this is a super interesting issue.  All our anti-trust laws were designed for an industrial world where you were worried about a monopoly on steel or something critical and irreplaceable like that...  Amazon is huge, but they are huge in totally different businesses that aren't always even complimentary (e.g. retail vs. web services vs. The Washington Post) and they generally all still have significant competitors (e.g. every other retailer or now grocer, netflix, the NY Times, other hosting services for AWS).  Is there a concern about companies simply being too big that goes beyond the old concerns of monopoly power over a critical item?  

[y4m]

Jun 16, 2017 10:19:09 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

Jun 16, 2017 10:11:49 GMT -5 y4m said:

I think this is a super interesting issue.  All our anti-trust laws were designed for an industrial world where you were worried about a monopoly on steel or something critical and irreplaceable like that...  Amazon is huge, but they are huge in totally different businesses that aren't always even complimentary (e.g. retail vs. web services vs. The Washington Post) and they generally all still have significant competitors (e.g. every other retailer or now grocer, netflix, the NY Times, other hosting services for AWS).  Is there a concern about companies simply being too big that goes beyond the old concerns of monopoly power over a critical item?  

I was listening to NPR yesterday with a guy that wrote a book about google, amazon, and facebook and he argued there needs to be legislation to break up their market share since the 3 have no less than a 75% share each. But I zoned on the ideas why.

Eta: threat to democracy, esp google and facebook

It maybe makes sense for google and facebook, since they trade in information and access to information.  I guess you could look at information as the new "steel"

But like...how do you have a network that trades in information that doesn't have all the information...  They are kind of monopolies by default.  Especially social networks.

Facebook and google do have near monopolies when it comes to ad networks.  But advertisers aren't exactly a sympathetic audience politically.

[y4m]

Must be this book - sounds really interesting

www.amazon.com/Move-Fast-Break-Things-Undermined/dp/0316275778/

Here's the NPR piece: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/06/15/facebook-google-amazon-democracy

[laurenpetro]

Jun 16, 2017 10:11:49 GMT -5 y4m said:

Jun 16, 2017 9:49:08 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

I am not comfortable with how large amazon is getting.

I think this is a super interesting issue.  All our anti-trust laws were designed for an industrial world where you were worried about a monopoly on steel or something critical and irreplaceable like that...  Amazon is huge, but they are huge in totally different businesses that aren't always even complimentary (e.g. retail vs. web services vs. The Washington Post) and they generally all still have significant competitors (e.g. every other retailer or now grocer, netflix, the NY Times, other hosting services for AWS).  Is there a concern about companies simply being too big that goes beyond the old concerns of monopoly power over a critical item?  

I don't remember the specifics of the company but this is reminding me of American Standard.  They made EVERYTHING.  I don't think they held a monopoly in any 1 area but they were everywhere.  Companies that large don't sit well with me.  Their automotive division alone is one of the largest in the transit industry and that was 1/3 of what they sold off.

I like amazon by itself.  I like WF by itself.  Yes both have their problems but IMO they're not on par with Wal Mart.  I just don't like companies this large.

ETA: it's not that I think this should be illegal.  I don't like the potential for a company like this to collapse and take a good portion of the economy down with it.