Amazon Acquires Whole Foods
Amazon Acquires Whole Foods refers to Amazon's $13.7 billion purchase of the Whole Foods Market grocery chain, completed on August 28, 2017, which gave Amazon a national network of physical stores.
What happened and why it matters
The Whole Foods deal showed that stores can double as fulfillment and returns locations, an idea now common across omnichannel retail. Amazon closed the $13.7 billion purchase on August 28, 2017, and cut prices on staples by as much as 43% that same day; shares of rival grocers such as Kroger fell sharply. Amazon then folded Prime benefits into the chain, used stores for grocery pickup and delivery, and later accepted Amazon returns at Whole Foods counters. For brands and 3PLs, the lesson is that a nearby store can serve as a pickup point, a returns drop-off, and a small local inventory node.