Sorry, Whole Foods lovers! Amazon has made the decision to close six Whole Foods stores in four different states.
There are around 500 Whole Foods locations across the world, so this doesn’t make much of a dent in the grand scheme of things. However, for residents of Montgomery, Alabama; Mobile, Alabama; Brookline, Massachusetts; Tarzana, California; and Chicago, Illinois, it may be some surprising and disappointing news.
So, what’s the reason for these closings? A whole Foods spokesperson told Bloomberg, where this news first broke, that it all comes down to “growth potential.”
“As we continue to position Whole Foods Market for long-term success, we regularly evaluate the performance and growth potential of each of our stores, and we have made the difficult decision to close six stores,” the spokesperson explained.
Five of these stores have been closed since last Friday, May 6, but the remaining one in Chicago does not have a set closing date yet.
This isn't the first time Amazon has decided to shut down physical stores. A total of 68 Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star, and Amazon Pop Up stores closed across the US and UK earlier this year. The corporation told Insider this would allow them to focus more on their other retail efforts.
In addition to Whole Foods, Amazon also owns their own grocery stores: Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh. Amazon Fresh is a particularly unique store which allows shoppers to walk straight out without stopping at a register. Their items are charged straight to their Amazon account. This technology, known as "Just Walk Out," was recently added to Whole Foods locations in Washington, DC and Sherman Oaks, California.
It seems that the conglomerate is working on its grocery retail strategy, and the decision to close these Whole Foods stores is all part of their overall growth within this realm. We're interested to see how everything plays out!
