Amazon
is closing its deal to buy Whole Foods next week and is already
announcing price cuts for
bananas, eggs, salmon, beef and more.
Amazon
is paying
$13.7 billion for
the chain which has a reputation for high prices for niche-market
foods, such as organic produce.
It's
an "opening salvo" in the grocery wars, said Neil Saunders,
managing director of GlobalData Retail, and shares of other
supermarkets fell on the news.
"Rivals
should be under no illusion that they are now dealing with a
competitor that is not afraid to damage profits and margins if it
creates long-term gains," Saunders said in an analyst note.
