Amazon buying Whole Foods

[SSOWorld]

[1995hoo]

Seen via someone else's retweet earlier today:

Jeff Lewis @ChicagoPhotoSho

Bezos: "Alexa, buy me something from Whole Foods"

Alexa: "Buying Whole Foods"

Bezos: Shit

....

[jakeroot]

As with all large mergers, I have this urging feeling this could be part of a decline. I mean, look at when large businesses try to buy each other out - Ames went bankrupt from purchasing Hills (when Ames actually recovered from their previous bankruptcy), Sears went into a steep downhill slope from K-Mart, and AOL purchased Time Warner...and then it all collapsed.

You're thinking of examples where there was already weakness your choice(s) of brands.

In the first and last examples, Ames and AOL were already making tons of money and were already massive companies by the time they started buying out companies, and in the example of AOL and Time Warner, both were recognizable and made colossal headlines when the two companies merged.

I'd say that this merger can make or break Amazon right here.

I don't know much about Ames, but AOLs worth was greatly over-valued due to the dot-com bubble. And unlike AOL, Amazon has many, many subsidiaries to keep it afloat in the event that one subsidiary takes a nose-dive. Even if this deals goes bust, it's not like Amazon Web Services or their online store is suddenly gonna go tits-up.

[The Nature Boy]

AOL's failure was more due to the decline of dialup internet and their inability to adapt to a changing market.

[jakeroot]

AOL's failure was more due to the decline of dialup internet and their inability to adapt to a changing market.

The acquisition of Time Warner certainly exacerbated their ability to escape from certain bankruptcy, but you're right. It doesn't change the fact that times were changing, and the technology offered by AOL was falling behind the offerings from competitors.

[english si]

I always liked the AOL cds - useful for making an interesting mirror (my brother did that to decorate his room, though not just AOL ones), scaring birds away from the garden, etc - but it must have cost AOL a dollar a pop to mail a cd for a service I didn't need as I used a competitor for each of every one of the ~100 times we got one. And it probably didn't help that it was clear what AOL stood for the first few years of their promoting in the UK with stuff saying "America Online somewhere on it" - they dropped that eventually, but...

Amazon's business plan was similar - spend loads of money (in this case not making profit on sales for years) to kill off competitors by grabbing their customers and win a massive market share. Amazon got it to work though.

[briantroutman]

And it probably didn't help that it was clear what AOL stood for the first few years of their promoting in the UK with stuff saying "America Online somewhere on it" - they dropped that eventually, but...

Are you saying that because promotional materials referenced "America Online"  instead of just "AOL" , people outside of the United States thought that "America Online"  wasn't for them?

[english si]

Are you saying that because promotional materials referenced "America Online"  instead of just "AOL" , people outside of the United States thought that "America Online"  wasn't for them?

I'm saying that the 'America' in 'America Online' sounded like it was something tailored to Americans sold in the UK - more an iffy fit than 'not for us' (and the bespoke software didn't help) just as while Americans are very welcome to have a Lamb Bhuna, and Brits 'Cheese' Dogs, both would prefer something more to their sensibilities to eat.

IIRC, BT's Internet branding made a big deal out of 'British Telecom' in response, even though their other operations didn't.

In fact, AOL even dropped the full name in the US in 2006 (despite Google valuing it at $20bn just a few months before in what was a terrible investment).

[cjk374]

Is this the Whole Foods that Amazon purchased?

http://m.wholefoodsmarket.com/mobile/stores/shreveport

[jakeroot]

Is this the Whole Foods that Amazon purchased?

http://m.wholefoodsmarket.com/mobile/stores/shreveport

That's one of them, yes.

[cjk374]

Is this the Whole Foods that Amazon purchased?

http://m.wholefoodsmarket.com/mobile/stores/shreveport

That's one of them, yes.

I had no idea there were any such stores near me (the others are in Jackson, MS; Little Rock, AR; Lafayette, LA; and somewhere in TX).

I'm more of a Brookshires/Super 1 & Wally Hell shopper.

[US71]

Is this the Whole Foods that Amazon purchased?

http://m.wholefoodsmarket.com/mobile/stores/shreveport

That's one of them, yes.

I had no idea there were any such stores near me (the others are in Jackson, MS; Little Rock, AR; Lafayette, LA; and somewhere in TX).

I'm more of a Brookshires/Super 1 & Wally Hell shopper.

Whole Paycheck just opened a store in Fayetteville, AR a few months back.  I shop at Wally World, Aldi, and occasionally Harp's.

[jakeroot]

I shop at Wally World, Aldi, and occasionally Harp's.

Is Aldi any good? There's none in Washington State just yet, but I've been interested in the shop since I heard about them entering the US market. Honestly, I'm not even sure what kind of store to compare it to. I wanna say it's larger than a 7-Eleven but smaller than a Walgreens.

[jeffandnicole]

I shop at Wally World, Aldi, and occasionally Harp's.

Is Aldi any good? There's none in Washington State just yet, but I've been interested in the shop since I heard about them entering the US market. Honestly, I'm not even sure what kind of store to compare it to. I wanna say it's larger than a 7-Eleven but smaller than a Walgreens.

Aldi has been around for quite a long time in the US, but they are expanding.  They are basically a small, no frills supermarket, along the lines of a Family Dollar but for groceries.  Save-a-lot is similiar to them.  Using your store comparisons, they are about twice the size of a standard Walgreens. Maybe on par size-wise with a Whole Foods.

[briantroutman]

Is Aldi any good?

Have you ever been in a Trader Joe's? They're quite comparable. In fact, they're corporate cousins–Trader Joe's is the American arm of Germany's Aldi Nord (northern Germany), and the U.S. Aldi is Germany's Aldi Sud (southern Germany).

Most Aldi and Trader Joe's stores are about half the size of a typical American supermarket–or roughly the size of a neighborhood grocery store in the pre-supermarket era. Almost everything Aldi and Trader Joe's sells is a store brand item, and they tend to have a more limited selection of most things. The upside is that prices tend to be quite low, and according to a recent article in Consumer Reports, both rank highly for the quality of their store brand items.

Last I was in an Aldi was 20 years ago, and at that time, some of their European idiosyncrasies (you had to insert a quarter to get a shopping cart, no free shopping bags) were quite novel. I don't know if they still do the cart deposit, and many governments have since enacted shopping bag restrictions, so bring-your-own-bag is common now.

I live within walking distance of a Trader Joe's, and it's where I get most of my groceries. TJ's–now, anyways–has a reputation for offering a pretty good variety of organic, vegetarian, and other specialty foods at fairly low prices (sort of a thrifty alternative to Whole Foods). Aldi didn't have the same reputation 20 years ago, but that could have changed since.

[Takumi]

Aldi does still have the quarter-for-a-cart thing. I shop there. We're also getting a Lidl, one of Aldi's main competitors in both Germany and most of Europe.

[jeffandnicole]

Aldi does still have the quarter-for-a-cart thing. I shop there. We're also getting a Lidl, one of Aldi's main competitors in both Germany and most of Europe.

We are getting a Lidl as well. Interesting that they are building in a shopping center that already has a closed supermarket, but even though the store sizes are similiar Lidl didn't want that store.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I'm more of a Brookshires/Super 1 & Wally Hell shopper.

This is funny because there's a Super One grocery chain in the northern part of the Upper Midwest. Their logos look remarkably similar as well.

[Takumi]

Aldi does still have the quarter-for-a-cart thing. I shop there. We're also getting a Lidl, one of Aldi's main competitors in both Germany and most of Europe.

We are getting a Lidl as well. Interesting that they are building in a shopping center that already has a closed supermarket, but even though the store sizes are similiar Lidl didn't want that store.

Interesting. The Lidl (and all the Aldis) here are all in new locations. There are several former and current Martin's spaces that weren't bought by Publix and couldn't find a buyer.

[jeffandnicole]

Aldi does still have the quarter-for-a-cart thing. I shop there. We're also getting a Lidl, one of Aldi's main competitors in both Germany and most of Europe.

We are getting a Lidl as well. Interesting that they are building in a shopping center that already has a closed supermarket, but even though the store sizes are similiar Lidl didn't want that store.

Interesting. The Lidl (and all the Aldis) here are all in new locations. There are several former and current Martin's spaces that weren't bought by Publix and couldn't find a buyer.

The Aldi in Woodbury, NJ took over a Bottom Dollar, as they did in numerous locations.  This specific takeover was a bit unusual in that there was already an Aldi about a mile down the road in a shopping center.  I guess this new location fit their demos a bit better than the old location, even though they had been there for many years, and the parking lot was larger.  The old location was closed when the new one opened.

[MNHighwayMan]

I'm more of a Brookshires/Super 1 & Wally Hell shopper.

This is funny because there's a Super One grocery chain in the northern part of the Upper Midwest. Their logos look remarkably similar as well.

Is the northern one really much of a chain though? I know there is one in Baxter and another in Duluth, but I honestly can't remember seeing any anywhere else.

[1995hoo]

Around here there have been some Aldi stores that took over other stores, including one that took over the old Fischer Hardware space in Springfield. Others have gone into new buildings. I went to the one in Springfield the day it opened and was not all that impressed with the selection. Store brands don't bother me at all, but the meat just didn't look as good as what I get at Wegmans, even if it was cheaper (and I don't mind bagging my own groceries or the like, so that was no big deal either). I have not gone back. If a Lidl opens around here, I will probably go check it out, as I almost always try out new options just to see how they are.

This thread prompted me to try to remember when the last time I went to Whole Foods was and I can't say as I recall. I used to go there quite frequently, primarily for seafood, but once Wegmans opened I started going there instead because both the location and the parking arrangement are far more convenient.

[cjk374]

I'm more of a Brookshires/Super 1 & Wally Hell shopper.

This is funny because there's a Super One grocery chain in the northern part of the Upper Midwest. Their logos look remarkably similar as well.

Is the northern one really much of a chain though? I know there is one in Baxter and another in Duluth, but I honestly can't remember seeing any anywhere else.

Super 1 is essentially a "Super Brookshires". Super 1 is owned by Brookshires. I had no idea they were that far north.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I'm more of a Brookshires/Super 1 & Wally Hell shopper.

This is funny because there's a Super One grocery chain in the northern part of the Upper Midwest. Their logos look remarkably similar as well.

Is the northern one really much of a chain though? I know there is one in Baxter and another in Duluth, but I honestly can't remember seeing any anywhere else.

Wikipedia says they have 30 stores in 3 states (MN, WI, MI), which is more than I thought they had but I've seen them in a number of other towns such as I-Falls and Two Harbors.

Super 1 is essentially a "Super Brookshires". Super 1 is owned by Brookshires. I had no idea they were that far north.

I believe they're not the same store, just coincidences.

[jakeroot]

I don't think I understand ALDI's expansion plans. I can see from their site that they're all over the east coast and eastern midwest, but then there's a giant gap, and then about 30 stores in Southern California. Southern California also had Fresh & Easy, Tesco's toe-dip in the US market (which failed miserably). Perhaps it's a west-coast test market.

Lidl still seems to be in its infancy at this point. It's a brand I'm also familiar with, but have no expectation to see anytime soon.