It's a done deal: Amazon takes over Whole Foods

Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion: What the deal buys

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Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion: What the deal buys

Amazon is buying upscale grocery chain, Whole Foods Market. Take a look at everything they are getting in the deal

Amazon completed its $13.7 billion takeover of organic grocer Whole Foods on Monday, taking quick aim at the chain's "Whole Paycheck" image and bringing it in line with Amazon's practice of keeping prices low to lock in customer loyalty. Beyond lowering prices on organic avocados, eggs and kale, it also means Whole Foods brands will be available on Amazon's site. The company aims to make Amazon Prime the rewards program for Whole Foods customers, and offer members special discounts.

The deal could also spur big changes in how people shop for groceries. Here's what you need to know:

WHAT AMAZON WANTS FROM WHOLE FOODS

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It gives Amazon more than 465 physical stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Before the acquisition, Amazon had a small brick-and-mortar presence with less than a dozen bookstores, a prototype convenience store in Seattle and pickup locations in some cities near college campuses. The tie-up may also give the Seattle-based company valuable data on how people shop in stores, where the vast majority of retail sales still take place. Amazon is an expert in using data on past purchases and browsing to offer suggestions that might make people buy more, and could start applying that in stores as well as online.

Whole Foods, meanwhile, gets to exhale. Before the deal, the chain was under intense pressure from shareholders to improve its financial results and figure out how to stop customers from going to lower-priced supermarkets to buy natural foods. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, who will stay in that role, said Amazon's history of innovation could transform Whole Foods from "the class dunce" to "valedictorian."

WHAT WILL CHANGE FOR SHOPPERS

Amazon already lowered prices at Whole Foods Monday on a range of kitchen staples, including ground beef and rotisserie chicken.


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