Amazon’s Disruption to Brick-and-Mortar Grocery Shopping

By Chirag Gandhi

On June 16, 2017, Amazon shocked the market by announcing a USD 13.7 Billion takeover deal for Whole Foods. This represented a low 27 percent premium on the stock price of Whole Foods, as stock market activist investor JANA Partners LLC had criticized management for poor performance and underwhelming earnings. Hence, CEO John Mackey revealed that the “partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Market's shareholders, […] bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to [their] customers.” Mackey will continue as CEO for the company, which will continue to exist under the Whole Foods banner as the deal was approved by regulators and shareholders on August 23, 2017.