Amazon shuts down two Whole Foods stores

AMAZON is shutting two Whole Foods stores in the UK – just three months after taking over the healthy grocery chain.

The internet giant, which completed its £10.7bn takeover of Whole Foods in August, plans to close branches in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, and Cheltenham.

It is understood the stores employ around 150 staff between them.

Industry insiders said the closures were probably a strategic move as neither shop could be serviced by Amazon’s online grocery service Amazon Fresh, which delivers to 302 postcodes across London, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Steve Dresser from retail analysts Grocery Insight said: ‘It makes perfect sense for Whole Foods to close both stores from a business stand- point, the logistics must be nonsensical. I think it marks the new age from Amazon where the balance sheet is scrutinised and sacred cows in Gloucester and Scotland aren’t permissible just to “spread the brand”.’

Whole Foods, which has nine stores in the UK, claimed the move was unrelated to the Amazon merger.

A spokesman said a decision on the future of the stores will be made after the company has consulted with staff to discuss the proposal.

If they decided to close the stores the firm would ‘work with team members to explore alternative employment opportunities’, the spokesman said.

Amazon has been trying to ramp up its grocery operations in the UK and last month announced a partnership with north- of- England supermarket Booths. Under the deal ‘ hundreds’ of the high- end grocer’s products will be stocked on Amazon Fresh.

Earlier this year Amazon also placed a job advert looking to recruit a boss for UK Amazon Fresh Marketplace to ‘aggressively expand’ to win new food and drink partners.

It has a growing list of independent sellers on its website that specialises in delivering high quality produce. London partners include high-end butchers Lidgates in Holland Park, Gail’s Artisan Bakery in Soho, and Rotherhithe specialist wholesale fishmonger, Murray’s Fresh Fish.

Because of the nature of Amazon’s logistics business, it requires tight turnaround times and one of its main selling points is its sameday delivery option.

The takeover is potentially hazardous for the retail industry because of the sheer scale of its business. Unlike high street grocers which operate on low margins and need to keep tight controls on costs to make profits, Amazon’s £412bn market value means it can afford to make years of losses.

THE British Retail Consortium said non-food sales fell at the fastest rate on record in October as the warm weather dented demand for winter clothes.