Why is Amazon buying Whole Foods?

No one, including Amazon, has been able to make online groceries work. The need for physical stores combined with online has become clear, across retail categories -- but it's not at all clear that the online giant's acquisition of Whole Foods will be successful. read more

The grocery business is enormous, about $675 billion per year in the U.S. alone. read more

Buying Whole Foods could also ramp up Amazon's private-label-grocery business, an industry that is growing steadily in the US and other developed markets, Bernstein said. Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value brand is already popular, and Amazon would be able to expand its footprint. read more

Amazon announced on Friday morning that it’s buying Whole Foods for just under $14 billion, the retailer’s largest acquisition ever. The purchase holds implications for the future of groceries, the entire food industry, and—as hyperbolic as this might sound—the future of shopping for just about anything. read more