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Amazon launches big reorg of its grocery business, with new leaders who are finally integrating Whole Foods
Business Insiderยท 2025-06-11 17:19
Core Insights - Amazon is reorganizing Whole Foods to integrate it more closely with its grocery business under new leadership, aiming to revitalize its grocery strategy [1][3] - The restructuring includes a new leadership team and aligning Whole Foods corporate staff with Amazon's employee programs, which will be implemented over the next 12 months [2][12] Business Strategy - The previous structure was criticized for not leveraging the full potential of Amazon's resources and talent, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities [3][11] - The new approach aims to streamline operations and create a unified employee experience to drive faster growth [11][13] Market Position - Despite a 40% sales growth since the acquisition in 2017, Amazon and Whole Foods hold only 1.4% and 1.6% of the US grocery market, respectively, significantly trailing behind competitors like Walmart and Kroger [4][9] - Amazon's grocery sales from physical stores reached $5.5 billion in the first quarter, with online grocery sales growing 10.1% last year, down from 20.6% the previous year [10] Leadership Changes - Jason Buechel, who became Whole Foods CEO in 2022, is now overseeing all of Amazon's grocery business and has introduced a new leadership team to refine the company's structure [6][14] - The new leadership team includes executives from both Whole Foods and Amazon, tasked with defining the new operational framework [14][15] Financial Adjustments - As part of the transition, Whole Foods will adopt Amazon's compensation model, although overall pay is expected to remain largely unchanged [12] - The company is looking to cut costs and has not committed to maintaining employee discounts during the transition [17][18]