Amazon.com sent a shock wave through the grocery industry Friday when it announced plans to buy Whole Foods Markets, according to multiple media reports.The $13.7 billion deal brings Amazon formally into the world of bricks-and-mortar retail.
Amazon’s stunning takeover of Whole Foods shook the entire food chain. Go to CNN Money for more on this article.
The stocks of traditional grocery stores like Kroger were clobbered Friday after the deal was announced. So were Walmart and Target, which made big moves into groceries in recent years and now depend on food for a huge chunk of their sales.
The damage didn’t stop there: Food companies themselves, like Hershey and Campbell Soup, also slumped because of investor concerns that Amazon will do for their products what it does for everything else — cut prices ruthlessly.
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