BristolUK

I heard a report on the radio this morning about Amazon buying up Whole Foods and providing a physical presence for grocery shopping, including Canada.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ver/102914448/

Does this mean we can look forward to getting up in the morning and finding an Amazon rep at the front door every day offering a product because we had bought something similar last week?

scrubbedexpat091

I see what you did there... (joke wise)


I went to Whole Foods once, nice store, but I am not their target consumer, so I never went back, price were a tad high.

Not sure how beneficial the purchase will be for Canada, after all Amazon is well behind in Canada when compared to the US, and Whole Foods is pretty small here, and the existing grocers (in my area anyhow) are already a head of Amazon and have been doing home delivery or curbside pick up for several years now.

Time will tell.

Partially discharged

Prices were a tad high. That is an understatement.

I guess if Amazon buy Whole Foods I won't have to traipse to the Ottawa Whole Foods location to stock up on asparagus water

Whole Foods admits trying to sell asparagus water for $6 was a mistake - Trending - CBC News

scilly

I wander through Whole Foods every now and again if I have time to spare before an appointment close to one of their stores.

Prices "a tad high" is a major understatement ............. one soy-based frozen dessert was between $2 and $3 more expensive than in Safeway (now Sobeys)

The store is also highly "yuppy" and "healthy food" oriented.

I think our weekly food bill might increase by about $50 a week were we to shop there


It is a place to go if you want non-dairy cheese, dessert, organic foods, expensive olive oils, etc etc.

And there are very few stores in Canada compared to the US

Oakvillian

One of the dozen Whole Foods Market stores in Canada is, of course, in Oakville (well, it would be, wouldn't it...). I've been in, I think, four times in more than a decade. On three of those occasions I've bought some interesting cheese, because we had guests who'd feel the lack if we didn't; on the fourth I went specifically to get some strange vegan concoction to service the peculiar dietary needs of another house guest. I can't imagine buying "regular" groceries there.

Mind you, the wallet-damage potential is probably less than it is in the ludicrous yacht chandlery next door...

BristolUK

dbd presumably.

Shard

It's an interesting idea. I read that Amazon is planning to roll out it's no checkout technology there, whereby customers could just fill up their cart and leave. Might work well for price-immune Whole Foods customers.

Atlantic Xpat

Do Whole Foods do flyers? This weeks special on hipster quinoa-infused-coconut-water and pink Himalayan salt?

Oakvillian

Of course they do!

Sales and Coupons | Whole Foods Market

$3.38 off your Fermented Proteins+ bars - but careful now, only one coupon per customer per item per purchase...

Although I might have to forgive some of the nonsense as I notice they carry Fever-Tree tonic. That does go down well with a Tanqueray gin, much nicer than Schweppes or Canada Dry, and my local regular supermarket doesn't have it. The question now is whether I can swallow my inverse snobbery for long enough to go in and buy some... does it count if it's on special this week?

Atlantic Xpat

Ah, we don't have Whole Foods in Newfoundland so the whole experience will pass me by. We do have hipster tonic water though: The Third Place Cocktail Co. although I've never tried it.

Steve_

Seen on Twitter:

Jeff Bezos: Alexa, what's the best thing to buy at Whole Foods?

Alexa: Buying Whole Foods.

Bezos: Shit



They were going to build two Whole Foods in Calgary, I was really looking forward to it but the recession put an end to that.

It is really expensive but if you're careful they do have some stuff worth buying.

Steve_

Food prices in Vancouver always seem really high to me, I thought perhaps it was an optical illusion so I made a note of several prices at my local Sobey's and went into a "Thrifty Foods" in Vancouver (owned by the same company) and everything was around 20% more expensive, before tax.

Which makes no sense because the supply chain should be shorter to Vancouver, so you're just being ripped off.

And is it my imagination, but are the Cost Cutters in Blaine and Bellingham about the most uninviting supermarkets ever?

If I lived there I think I would do most of my shopping at the Fred Meyer's in Bellingham.

scrubbedexpat091

The purchase becomes final on Monday, and Amazon is promising lower prices on some products starting Monday, as well as the Whole Foods private label products will begin to also be available on Amazon's website (maybe just the US site?).

Amazon will also implement Amazon Prime into the stores payment system (not on Monday though) and Prime members will eventually receive in store benefits and savings.

Amazon finalizes Whole Foods takeover, promises lower prices starting Monday - Business - CBC News

Shard

Thanks JS. Good place to insert that meme of Jeff Bezos now, compared to 10 years ago. Bristol...?

BristolUK

I have no idea what that's about.