Amazon Seeks Larger Whole Foods Stores To Support Delivery Plans
March 26, 2018 | 1 min to read
Less than a year after closing its acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon.com Inc. is looking for fresh ways to expand its brick-and-mortar retail network while bolstering the online shopping business.
The world’s largest online retailer is searching for bigger Whole Foods locations in cities that can serve as both grocery stores and urban distribution centers for delivering goods to online shoppers more quickly, said a person briefed on the plans. Amazon is seeking more retail space that can accommodate grocery aisles and storage for the most popular items purchased from Amazon’s website, like consumer electronics, bestselling books and yoga pants.
Whole Foods is also working with Regency Centers Corp., one of its largest landlords, on a project to convert parking areas at existing stores into stalls for Amazon delivery contractors to load up their orders, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the initiative is private. A spokeswoman for Whole Foods declined to comment, and Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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