Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
391–400 of 865 posts
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#392Somewhat off topic, but I have had a weird thought circulating in my head (triggered by reading Red Plenty) that I wanted to put out there: What is the relationship between a centrally planned economy as for example Gosplan was trying to run in the USSR, and the presence of these huge market-like but centralized entities like Amazon and Wal-Mart inside a free-market economy? This becomes particularly interesting beca…
Amazon obviously has an interest in turning a profit. The main different is incentives.
A private company is generally structured better to remain competitive and efficient as things change.
Think Amazon is getting too big to remain agile? They basically aren't making a profit (they are continually reinvesting instead), as you say. Reinvesting in new strategies is probably the best evidence that a company IS competitive.
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#393Earlier quoted context omitted.
Aldi/Lidl have really taken over in the UK in the last 10 years. I'm not really sure how they manage it - more, smaller stores?
Due to the intense competition in Germany, companies such as ALDI and Lidl are far more efficient than grocery stores in other countries, particularly the UK and US. Walmart tried to enter the German market years ago and was sent packing shortly after. The reason why the German stores are expanding is because there is very little profit to be made in Germany, whereas in other countries margins are much higher in supe…
Also all three (Lidl/Schwarz Gruppe, Aldi Nord, Aldi Süd) are private companies and somewhat obfuscated. No shareholders demanding high dividend yield or quarterly forecasts. They operate in secrecy, even when the ALDI founders died, the most recent photos available to the public of both were made 30 years ago.
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#394This might just be a strategic move to block Instacart as every WF I've been to recently had created an entire checkout section just for Instacart.
Whoa, really? I've never seen this in New York.
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#395I'm from the Twin Cities in Minnesota which has tons of co-op grocery stores. They're successful and growing with cheaper prices than Whole Foods and much more progressive values (as well as giving regular folk an ownership stake in a crucial community institution). Whole Foods seemed to me to be just a poor copy of cooperative grocers. I'm surprised no one else has mentioned that in the comments here.
I'm not shedding any tears for Whole Foods' "culture" now that they've been bought by Amazon. They were always a sort of sham-progressive company. In the words of Portlandia, "Whole Foods is CORPORATE."
I suppose if you're going to be corporate, might as well go full Amazon. They do it very well.
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#396I'm confused. Amazon is known to work backward from an imagined future press release, and then do the actions necessary to make that press release. How does Amazon see the future in this case? -Amazon already has PrimeNow and Amazon Fresh, which offer a great grocery delivery service. For those who have tried these services, it's easy to see how addicting they are vs going to a physical store. -I can't see Amazon usi…
[deleted]
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#397[deleted]
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#398Just add it to the list of reasons to avoid Amazon.
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#399Oof. I wonder what this means for Whole Foods culture and employees. If you don't know, John Mackey, the CEO / founder, is a major believer in conscious capitalism and of empowering his employees. Whole Food employees get paid pretty darn well with some crazy good benefits for their industry and line-of-work (UNION FREE most of the time too!). WF banks on them being true believers and motivators of the cause - includ…
Amazon bought Zappos forever ago and their unique culture seems to have been preserved. Amazon doesn't necessarily fully assimilate their subsidiaries, especially when that subsidiary has a charismatic CEO who remains in place. If Mackey stays around, Whole Foods is probably still going to be Whole Foods for some time.
Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
#400Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting comparison. In this case, people aren't unionizing for essentially the opposite reason. Rather than state provided social welfare, their needs are satisfied through this capitalistic solution. Employees are empowered and rewarded through their work.
I'm not sure if you can call this capitalistic, though. WF as a commune could likely share many of the benefits or exceed them even without requiring shareholders to satisfy. Instead, a devotion to profits will ensure they are given the minimum to execute their job well. It'll be interesting to see what bezos does with it for sure.
name a single commune as successful or operating at the scale of Whole Foods or Amazon. in history.