The recent purchase of Whole Foods Market by Amazon, the world’s largest internet company by revenue, may have “shaken up” the grocery business, but it also left some of the natural and organic food store chain’s customers and vendors wondering if products on the shelves would change.
In late August, at the announcement of their merger they stated, “the two companies will together pursue the vision of making Whole Foods Market’s high-quality, natural and organic food affordable for everyone.” They followed suit on this announcement by slashing the price on some basic items, and promoting reduced pricing on certain produce on World Vegetarian Day but they also plan to adopt supermarket standards that are more conventional.
As reported in the news media, by April 2018, as part of its plan to decentralize operations, Whole Foods will no longer allow “brand advocates” to promote their products in-store, check inventory levels or assist in merchandising which follows the mass supermarket model. Additionally, whereas in the past some vendors could “pitch” their own local stores to carry their products, almost all purchasing decisions will revert back to their Austin, TX headquarters.
Before the merger, Whole Foods’ declining sales were partially attributed to their policy of allowing local suppliers’ products to be sold regionally, and it was also claimed this was distracting to employees and inefficient. This move to the more conventional central listing and purchasing process practiced by traditional supermarket chains may bring into question the availability of some natural or organic products that were locally sourced and sold in regional stores.
