Amazon Marks Takeover of Whole Foods by Cutting Grocery Prices

Amazon.com Inc. marked its takeover of Whole Foods Market Inc. by cutting grocery prices and advertising its Amazon Echo devices at a steep discount in many of the natural grocer's stores nationwide.

At a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, 2 pounds of Atlantic salmon fillets were about $2 cheaper at $19.98 and a 1-pound bag of brown rice was selling for 20 cents less at $2.49, according to labels Amazon and Whole Foods affixed to products on Monday to advertise the shift. At a store in Chicago, organic avocados and bananas were also marked down and a big sign advertised the voice-activated Amazon Echo device on sale for $44.99 rather than the list price of $99.99

"This is a little much," Diana Bradford, a 39-year-old stay-at-home mom, said of the Echo ad. Still, Ms. Bradford, an Amazon Prime member who often uses her Echo to shop online, said cheaper Whole Foods prices after the merger could "only could be a good thing."

"I do all my grocery shopping here," she said.

Amazon.com Inc. doesn't need to make money from Whole Foods yet. The grocer's $16 billion in annual revenue is roughly 12% of Amazon's $136 billion in yearly sales. And Amazon has a history of prioritizing gains in market share over profit as it enters a business, from bookselling to streaming video content.

Meanwhile, food sales are essential for grocer Kroger Co. and catchall retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. Amazon is hoping to compete with them by inching close to their prices on high-volume staples like bananas, eggs and ground beef in 470 Whole Foods stores. Deeper price cuts on Monday appeared focused on organic goods that attract a narrower band of shoppers.

Melissa Golden, an elementary school teacher shopping on Monday at the Brooklyn Whole Foods, was disappointed the cuts didn't extend to more items, like grass-fed beef.

"We waited until Monday to come shopping," said the 41-year-old, who shops at Whole Foods about once a week for most of her groceries. "I was expecting price cuts across the board."

Concerns over their readiness to withstand Amazon's advance have weighed on Kroger and Target shares since Amazon said it was buying Whole Foods in June. Wal-Mart shares have fared better, in part because of the discount giant's own e-commerce efforts. Kroger and Wal-Mart's shares were down slightly on Monday.

"We feel great about out position with our network of stores around the country and fast-growing e-commerce and online grocery business," a Wal-Mart spokesman said.

Shares in Whole Foods were no longer trading on Monday and the company's board was dissolved as Amazon's takeover took effect. In a regulatory filing, Whole Foods said 72% of its shareholders approved the deal, and that Amazon paid former investors about $13.55 billion, or $42 a share.

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com and Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 28, 2017 11:44 ET (15:44 GMT)