Wow! That’s the first reaction from everyone in the industry on learning that Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a deal that is valued at $13.7 billion, or $42 a share.
While there had been speculation that Amazon was looking at a number of different brick and mortar retail acquisitions over the past several months, this is still stunning news. Here are the key questions the deal raises:
- How will Amazon leverage Whole Food’s brick and mortar network? Whole Foods has 456 locations across 43 states in the U.S. as well as a presence in Canada and the U.K. It tends to be in prime real-estate locations targeting a higher-end demographic. It could become a significant branding presence for Amazon and a way to increase its physical presence.
- What does this mean for Amazon’s retail food business? It will allow Amazon to dramatically increase its importance in the retail food arena. Besides Whole Foods’ $15.6 billion in sales, Amazon has struggled to get Amazon Fresh to be a significant player in the retail food game. Whole Foods is the most credible player in fresh foods in the industry. Branding an online fresh service with Whole Foods brand and perishables know-how could be a game changer.
From a Whole Foods perspective, this is also a game changer. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey was adamant, even as late as yesterday, that he wanted to remain independent. Yet, the prospect of partnering with retail’s most innovative and best capitalized player has to be appealing. He can reinvent the company under the protective Amazon umbrella with the following advantages:
- There has to be significant overlap between the Amazon Prime customer and the Whole Foods core consumer. There should be synergies to mine as the two companies collaborate.
- It instantly makes Whole Foods a player in the growing online food retail business. One of the repercussions of this deal will be in understanding the impact on Instacart, which counts Whole Foods as its largest customer.
- It provides Whole Foods with greater leverage and buying power, which should allow it to reduce core prices and become more competitive, which was one of its stated objectives in its turnaround efforts.
The shockwaves around the retail industry will be reverberating for months to come. This will have impact not just in the grocery industry but in every facet of retail. How will competitors react? And, is Amazon done? Are more brick and mortar deals ahead in other retail categories as well?
Neil Stern, Partner at McMillanDoolittle, specializes in strategic planning and new retail concepts. He has written two books including Winning At Retail. Follow him on twitter @neilstern1