OT Amazon has officially taken over Whole Foods and are said to be slashing prices on groceries.

[KingSpeed]

In 10 years, we will look at Amazon much like how we look at Walmart.

Amazon is much bigger than Walmart.

 

[stampedehero]

Amazon will be or already is in the billion dollar assets status. I'm glad they took over Whole Foods as they catered to the rich and a $7.00 cup of soup is absolutely ridiculous. Competitors have the market share simple based on lower item costs for the consumer. Now, we can finally quit calling WF Whole Paycheck!

 

[HailBlazers]

One must wonder if they make Whole Foods more accessible if the hot girls will stop going there, which is the main reason people go there in the first place.

 

[Sinobas]

I love Whole Foods, easy parking, short lines, no crowds. Stores are always neat, clean and have a good vibe.

Getting Amazon prime benefits is just a bonus.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Amazon is much bigger than Walmart.

No, they're not. Walmart is bigger, and it's not close.

At their last quarterly filing, Amazon had 87.8B in assets and 23.2B in equity.
At their last quarterly filing, Walmart had 199.7B in assets and 76.1B in equity.

At their last fiscal year end, Amazon had 136.0B in revenue and 4.2B in operating income.
At their last fiscal year end, Walmart had 485.9B in revenue and 22.7B in operating income.

Amazon can't sniff Walmart's jock.

 

[julius]

Rumor has it Amazon is going after more major retailers like Nordstrom, Fred Meyer, Best Buy and Target.

Is this similar to the rumor that Damian drinks like a fish?

 

[andalusian]

No, they're not. Walmart is bigger, and it's not close.

At their last quarterly filing, Amazon had 87.8B in assets and 23.2B in equity.
At their last quarterly filing, Walmart had 199.7B in assets and 76.1B in equity.

At their last fiscal year end, Amazon had 136.0B in revenue and 4.2B in operating income.
At their last fiscal year end, Walmart had 485.9B in revenue and 22.7B in operating income.

This is all true - but Amazon's market value is bigger than Walmart and it will likely continue to grow much much faster than Walmart - for a good reason.

 

[Denny Crane]

The comparison between Walmart and Amazon is significant, but not for their sales or valuations or assets, per se.

Amazon is absolutely in growth mode, which implies massive investment of cash flows (and thus profits) in new infrastructure or buying companies like Whole Foods.

But more significantly is the reach of these companies, and their effect on smaller businesses that have to compete.

The reach is that they're both so dominant in terms of customers and geographic access that if Walmart refuses to carry a book or magazine, it's effectively censorship. That's been one of my issues with them all along. Same can be said for Amazon - if you can't find it or it's not suggested by searching their site, it doesn't exist for many people.

The effect on smaller businesses is brutal. When Walmart would open a store in small towns (that was their initial business model), it would put the local bicycle shop out of business (one example of many businesses), because they can't compete on price.

DVD.com was originally a pioneer in selling and renting DVDs online. Netflix got into the business and crushed them. Netflix eventually bought them, most likely just to have the URL.

 

[andalusian]

But more significantly is the reach of these companies, and their effect on smaller businesses that have to compete.

The reach is that they're both so dominant in terms of customers and geographic access that if Walmart refuses to carry a book or magazine, it's effectively censorship. That's been one of my issues with them all along. Same can be said for Amazon - if you can't find it or it's not suggested by searching their site, it doesn't exist for many people.

To be fair tho - Amazon is also an enabler of small businesses - just different small businesses. Their platform allows many small businesses to get to market with distribution they would never get otherwise - and I am not even talking about their cloud services clients - just regular retailers. There are tons of services that would not exist if it was not for their marketplace services.

Of course, if you add the AWS business - Amazon is probably one of the biggest reasons thousands of businesses exist.

I believe this is also the reason Amazon will overtake Walmart in volume and not just valuation and influence in time - they are a services company first where Walmart is a retailer first.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Worked the Walmart Open, an LPGA event in Rogers, Arkansas once. That's the headquarters of Walmart. They have a damn museum there. My hotel had about 3 right around it, just didn't go. There's a reason they are everywhere right? Everything is super cheap I'm sure.

So how's your half game?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

It also kills small business as much as people are able to provide goods to their FBA Marketplace.

If they find a supplier of a product they would like to sell like a battery charger or something like that they will often go direct to the manufacturer of those goods and undercut the original supplier, then sell their version under Amazon Basics.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/retail...ty-sellers-using-their-own-data/#56bbe57853d8

 

[3RA1N1AC]

As you might imagine, I often get asked by young entrepreneurs for advice on how to start a business. What many seem to want is some sort of trick, some magic set of tools that will allow them to launch a thriving startup from scratch. Well, there’s no magic involved, but the keys to success are quite simple: Value your customers, hire well, find a market that isn’t being served, and realize that someday I will utterly crush you.

That’s really all there is to it. Execute the basics correctly and you’ll be in great shape when I come along and rip away your dreams with one emotionless pen stroke.


In the early days of your startup, you may have to do a little bit of everything: design, accounting, marketing, legal, even cleaning up the office. That takes hard work, perseverance, and—I can’t emphasize this enough—the understanding that once you’ve succeeded, I will begin systematically choking off your revenue streams. It’s all part of the process, as integral as drafting your business plan, scaling up your company, and coming to terms with the fact that I will ultimately force you to take out a second mortgage just to make payroll.

http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/my-advice-anyone-starting-business-remember-someda-56539

 

[dviss1]

This is kinda funny. LOL.

Amazon lowering Whole Foods prices will hurt those who think they're better than you

Whole Foods has long been a top grocery destination for shoppers eager to spend unnecessarily large amounts of money on food that makes them feel superior to others.

Sadly, that dynamic is about to end. Online retailer Amazon is expected to close on its acquisition of Whole Foods next week and will immediately start — hold my locally sourced camel milk — lowering prices.

A company press release quotes Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, saying: "We're determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone."

Why? Doesn't Amazon care about people who want to send the message "I have too much disposable income — thus the raw Manuka honey I'm spreading on my eco-farmed brown rice cakes — and I want to subtly communicate that under the guise of good health and environmental consciousness"?


Wilke's statement continued: "To get started, we're going to lower prices beginning Monday on a selection of best-selling grocery staples, including Whole Trade organic bananas, responsibly-farmed salmon, organic large brown eggs, animal-welfare-rated 85% lean ground beef, and more."

Good grief. Now eating ground beef that has been animal-welfare-rated won't seem so special. And the days of silently mocking people who eat irresponsibly-farmed salmon are over, all thanks to a corporate giant that sells virtually everything on Earth EXCEPT status.

When I first heard of the Amazon/Whole Foods pairing, I thought there might be hope for the Whole Foods clientele. Perhaps Amazon would deliver fresh-ground almond butter and adzuki bean and sea-salt crackers to the doorsteps of the worthy via drones named Finn, earthy flying machines that were just working at Whole Foods until their alt-folk drone band took off.

But the press release says nothing about drones with man buns. Just a bunch of blah-blah about "lower prices for customers over time."

 

[andalusian]

I'd even order Kale if they were delivered by a man-bun sporting drone called Finn. Or Grits. (Just joking about the Grits, I actually like Kale)

 

[THE HCP]

Amazon is much bigger than Walmart.

#64Wins

 

[Denny Crane]

#64Wins

Wanna bet?

 

[BigGameDamian]

Wanna bet?

Bet HCP to go on Talkin'Ball with Dwight Jayens and Jason Quick.