Good day all. This came out a while ago and I’ve been a little slow on writing about it. A few weeks go, Amazon announced that it was buying Whole Foods for major bucks. This set off a number of people screaming that the sale be blocked.
The reasoning, such as it is, was that Amazon was getting to big, therefore it was an Anti-Trust thing. Personally, I don’t see it. I’ve been to Whole Foods a few times, and cheap it is not. it’s nickname is “Whole Paycheck” and for good reason. You’re going to pay through the nose for a lot of the same stuff you can get at Market Basket. (A local supermarket chain I go to) No, the problem is that Amazon will make some major changes in how things are done and people, especially the Unions, don’t like that. Here are some of the details from the Washington (Com)Post:
Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, sees Amazon the way some Rust Belt workers see global trade — as a threat to American jobs.
No, it’s a threat to Union jobs. But then, Unions haven’t done much for their membership in decades, other then cost them their jobs.
So on Monday, Perrone plans to file a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that letting Amazon buy Whole Foods would trigger a wave of store closures and eventually quash customer choice.
“Amazon’s reach will ultimately reduce the number of grocery competitors that consumers can choose from,” he wrote in the complaint. “Regardless of whether Amazon has an actual Whole Foods grocery store near a competitor, their online model and size allows them to unfairly compete with every single grocery store in the nation.”
Does she even shop in these stores? They are, for all intents and purposes, the Starbucks of supermarkets. Overpriced, politically correct products. The few times I’ve been there was to buy lunch, and I was not impressed. If anything, unless Amazon figures out a way to cut prices, the customer base probably isn’t going to change much.
A spokesperson would not comment on the complaint. (Amazon.com chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
“No job reductions are planned as a result of the deal,” a representative said when Amazon unveiled the news.
Honestly, I don’t see job cuts. Not unless Whole Paycheck is actually losing money. Still, I do see some effect on the Union.
Perrone, however, said he is worried the deal would give the Web titan an “unfair advantage with suppliers,” which could put small and medium shops out of business and hike up prices for shoppers — a consequence of limited competition, he said.
I really don’t see that happening. Simply put, people who go to other markets are looking for the cheapest items that meet their needs. Cheap is not a word you use with Whole Paycheck.
The company’s AmazonFresh service, which is separate from the Whole Foods deal, delivers groceries to customers in Seattle, New York, Boston and D.C., among other markets. (Amazon has not released the number of subscribers.)
“I’ve got concerns, and our organization has concerns, about what technology does and at what cost to society,” Perrone told The Washington Post. “We don’t want to be Luddites about technology, but we’ve got real concerns about what happens to America in the future.”
Excuse me? Does Whole Paycheck deliver orders? (I just looked and they do in some areas) I really don’t think Perrone has anything to worry about on job cuts. While Bezo’s wants to play with Drones for deliveries, those will be limited in their ability to carry payloads. I expect that if people order large shipments, that’s going to be through normal delivery systems.
Now on the warehouse side, yeah, there will be some automation, but Whole Paycheck doesn’t just deal with canned and dry goods, they also deal with fresh meat and vegetables. Those will need a trained human eye for proper handling.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has roughly 1.3 million members across North America, working for retailers at a typical wage of about $18 an hour, including benefits. Members are employed at stores such as Kroger, Safeway and Albertsons. Whole Foods, for contrast, isn’t unionized.
Umm excuse me? Your union does NOT represent any of the workers at Whole Paycheck? Well, guess what? You just managed to blow your whole argument out of the water.
The union, Perrone said, is worried that America’s shifting shopping preferences will spark a crisis in its industry the same way automation and trade with China and Mexico has wiped out factory work.
You aren’t being entirely accurate there are you? The reasons for manufacturing jobs leaving the United States are threefold. Taxes, Regulations and Unions driving the costs into low earth orbit. However, President Trump is working to change that. Let me guess? You backed Felonia von Pantsuit, didn’t you?
Grocery stores lost 11,000 jobs since last year, and supermarkets are down 3,000 workers from this time last year. That’s partly because online food shopping has crept into the market, taking away a small slice of business so far — but one that is expected to keep growing, said David Livingston, a grocery chain analyst in Wisconsin.
I’ve looked into online grocery shopping. Honestly? I don’t find it cost effective for me. I have one grocery store within walking distance and the others I go to cost me a dollar in travel expenses. Also, the prices are generally cheaper.
Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill have raised issues with the merger. Last week, Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the House’s Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, requested a hearing on the deal. In a letter to his colleagues, Cicilline said the panel should explore how such a move would affect the future of grocery stores and prices.
I can provide a quick answer. No one knows and you sure won’t find out. You just want to put your hand into Amazon’s pockets. Every time the Proglodytes have put their fingers into things, they’ve screwed it up.
Some farmers have expressed concern that Whole Foods under Amazon’s rule could shift its sourcing emphasis away from small, local producers — a tradition the store has baked into its brand but has admitted is more expensive than buying supplies from larger outfits. (An Amazon spokesman told The Post that Amazon “remains committed” to Whole Foods’s producers.)
Dude, this is not Wal-Mart. The whole business model for Whole Paycheck revolves around providing overpriced product and separating guilty white Progressive Moonbats from their paychecks. Move away from that model and you lose the Social Justice Warrior market.
“Think about the Amazon business model — that’s typically bringing down prices and enhancing innovation, which is a benefit to consumers,” said former Democratic chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Jon Leibowitz, now a partner at the law firm Davis Polk. “But the FTC is a very professional agency, and they’re going to pay attention to any substantive concerns raised by outside parties.”
Honestly, I see these complaints as nothing more than a way to raid Bezo’s wallet. Yes, there will be changes, and Amazon might just be able to drive down some of their costs. However, if they move to far from the Whole Paycheck business model, they will lose the very customer base they are trying to get. Bezo is many things. Stupid isn’t one of them. (Except in regards to buying the Washington (Com)Post)
Thatisall
~The Angry Webmaster~
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One and only experience with delivered groceries from one chain was a phone call shortly after order placed that cherries, type a, wasn’t in stock and would cherries, type b, be OK. Tough to think through a viable substitute as they talk to you on the phone. May not be what you prefer but you are almost forced to accept it.
Then the delivery included one item that was three days past its ‘sell by’ date, as well as another item of produce that we intended to use immediately but was not yet ripe enough.
No thanks.
And this not picking out your own groceries would apply as well to the Kroger ‘clicklist’ where you order online and then they bring it to your car when you drive by to pick up.