Whole Foods sees 25 percent jump in shoppers after Amazon cuts
Amazon.com Inc.’s splashy takeover of Whole Foods, complete with deep price cuts, did more than bring a surge of publicity to the chain: It boosted customer traffic.
Amazon.com Inc.’s splashy takeover of Whole Foods, complete with deep price cuts, did more than bring a surge of publicity to the chain: It boosted customer traffic.
The family-owned meat shop and full-service caterer has been operating in the northern suburbs since 1966. It moved from Zionsville to Fishers in 1969.
The internet juggernaut spent its first day as the owner of a brick-and-mortar grocery chain cutting prices at Whole Foods Market as much as 43 percent.
Amazon’s announcement comes a day after Whole Foods shareholders gave their approval and the Federal Trade Commission said it would not block the purchase. The deal is expected to close Monday.
The approval is one step required to close the deal, which is a bold move into physical stores for Amazon, and has the possibility of making big changes to the supermarket industry and online grocery ordering.
The Hogsett administration plans to use federal grant funding to stimulate the development of one or more grocery stores and help eliminate food deserts.
Local grocery chain Safeway, hatched during World War II, has outlasted other homegrown competitors at a time large nationals are increasing their market share.
Kroger said it will first focus on reopening seven of the stores, spending $20 million on renovations.
Plans are taking shape to revamp dilapidated and underdeveloped properties in the Maple Crossing area, north of 38th at Illinois and Meridian streets.
The store was one of 18 of 44 remaining Marsh groceries that wasn’t acquired last month to either Kroger or Fresh Encounter, as part of Marsh Supermarket’s bankruptcy process.
Rather than featuring long, tall aisles like traditional groceries, the new-format stores featured a courtyard in the center with a dozen “boutiques” around the perimeter, each selling a certain category of goods.
The biggest U.S. supermarket chain lost more than $7 billion in market value combined on Thursday and Friday, the biggest two-day loss for the company since December 1999.
A lawsuit alleging Kroger stores in Indiana have for years knowingly failed to collect and remit state sales tax on hundreds of non-exempt food items and other goods will be heard in state court after a judge denied the grocers’ bid to transfer the suit to federal court.
Investors worry that Amazon, which has wreaked havoc on department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers, will do the same thing with groceries.
Amazon.com Inc. plans to buy Whole Foods Market Inc. in the biggest transaction ever for the e-commerce giant as it pushes deeper into groceries.
Aldi is doubling the amount of space it devotes to fresh produce; carrying fresh fish to complement its beef, steak and chicken offerings; expanding its wine selection and adding more shelves in its frozen food section.
Sales to liquidate inventory at the 18 stores that weren’t sold at auction to other grocers this week could last until early July, said a Marsh spokesman.
Under the agreement, prospective store buyers Kroger and Fresh Encounter would be able to operate pharmacies at the locations much sooner than rival CVS expected.
CVS wants to prevent buyers from operating pharmacies. Lockerbie Marketplace's owners say Fresh Encounter has failed to demonstrate it has the financial wherewithal to "fully perform" under the Marsh lease it wants to take over in that shopping center.
For decades, Marsh Supermarkets has had a lock on the downtown grocery market. Proposed store sales disclosed Tuesday, combined with the impending opening of Whole Foods, set the stage for three-way showdown.