Well, that was fast
ZEENAT MOORAD: Retail gorilla Amazon beats its chest
As is the way of retail gorillas, the first order of business was price cuts
How Amazon beat its chest
It was all but a foregone conclusion that I would look at Amazon this week. It has been all over the interwebs like a rash. It became the parent of Whole Foods after clearing its US$13.7bn acquisition. As is the way of retail gorillas, the first order of business was price cuts. Most of Whole Foods’ bestselling staples were made cheaper. And by bestselling I mean the virtuous stuff: Responsibly Farmed Atlantic Salmon Fillet, Whole Trade Organic Bananas and Animal-Welfare-Rated 85% Lean Ground Beef. These are actual names. Whole Foods, if you don’t know, helped create the market for organic, natural and "clean" offerings in the US. In reducing prices on its first day as the owner of Whole Foods (in some cases by up to 43%) Amazon was saying that it has the wherewithal to make Whole Foods affordable. The upscale chain has, over the past few years, gained the derisive tag "Whole Paycheck", due to its reputation for being unaffordable.Aggressive pricing (at any cost) is Amazon’s "thing"...
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