New Amazon Grocery Chain

[BillyGr]

Wow, that Go Grocery looks like something. I'll have to check it out next time I'm in Seattle.

Clearly they have no concept of affordability though, $2.09 per doughnut?

Thanks for sharing the link.

Depends on what type of donuts they are selling - if it's something made by an actual donut making company, perhaps the price isn't so bad, if it's your standard store donut then yes, overpriced.

[pseudo3d]

While this is not the same thing as the Amazon grocery concept talked about here, they are adding yet another grocery concept. Amazon Go Grocery will debut in Seattle!

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/a ... n-seattle/

You can see how much brown-nosing the author does for Amazon, opening the article with "Amazon’s next step in its disruption of the grocery store business". Not a lot of "disruption" has been done except for some piecemeal technology initiatives by traditional grocers (unless you're Kroger, in which case you sink a lot of money into technology at the expense of your core business), and everyone seems to forget how back in 2007 how Tesco was going to change everything.

[veteran+]

While this is not the same thing as the Amazon grocery concept talked about here, they are adding yet another grocery concept. Amazon Go Grocery will debut in Seattle!

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/a ... n-seattle/

You can see how much brown-nosing the author does for Amazon, opening the article with "Amazon’s next step in its disruption of the grocery store business". Not a lot of "disruption" has been done except for some piecemeal technology initiatives by traditional grocers (unless you're Kroger, in which case you sink a lot of money into technology at the expense of your core business), and everyone seems to forget how back in 2007 how Tesco was going to change everything.

LOL...........so true!!!

When a company says they are going to change how shoppers shop and what they buy is always suspect but especially with a foreign company (Tesco) making that claim.

I hope Bezos doesn't suffer from amnesia!

[Brian Lutz]

I think it's hard to interpret too much from this. I know Amazon Go has expanded out to a few locations with plans for more, but especially for stores opening in Seattle it's probably a safe assumption that they're being run primarily for the benefit of the engineering teams to develop the technology. It's possible the concept will expand, but it would depend a lot from how this one does.

[marshd1000]

2nd Amazon Go Grocery in the Seattle area to open in Redmond!

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/a ... d-redmond/

[storewanderer]

This continues to be a glacially slow roll out. It is almost as slow as Kroger's progress on building new stores in CA, OR, and WA. Okay, it isn't THAT slow, but it is close. Albertsons/Safeway is out-building them....

[Brian Lutz]

The location the article says the Redmond store is going into the former Sears Auto Center in Overlake (at the corner of Northup Way and 148th) which would make for a rather small grocery store (probably about the size of a Trader Joe's, maybe a bit bigger.) It's also right across the street from a Fred Meyer, and there are also two different Safeway stores within a few blocks. I know there were also redevelopment plans for the site to turn the shopping center into a big apartment / mixed use complex, although I have no idea what the status of those are.

[babs]

This continues to be a glacially slow roll out. It is almost as slow as Kroger's progress on building new stores in CA, OR, and WA. Okay, it isn't THAT slow, but it is close. Albertsons/Safeway is out-building them....

I'm being snarky here but there is the issue of the dozens of still vacant Albertson/Safeways stores. Not so sure about that out-building part.

I still continue to believe that Amazon isn't looking at Bricks and Mortar as an overall strategy. Rather B&M is there to support online operations. Amazon looks 10 years out while everyone is looking at the next quarter.

[storewanderer]

This continues to be a glacially slow roll out. It is almost as slow as Kroger's progress on building new stores in CA, OR, and WA. Okay, it isn't THAT slow, but it is close. Albertsons/Safeway is out-building them....

I'm being snarky here but there is the issue of the dozens of still vacant Albertson/Safeways stores. Not so sure about that out-building part.

I still continue to believe that Amazon isn't looking at Bricks and Mortar as an overall strategy. Rather B&M is there to support online operations. Amazon looks 10 years out while everyone is looking at the next quarter.

I will agree Kroger has closed fewer stores (in OR/WA especially). As far as Ralphs goes they have not been closing as many stores lately but up until about 2015 they were steadily closing stores.

Well let's timeline it since the Haggen mess. Since that was the last time stores were up for grabs and Kroger did not get even one location out of the deal (which was a major disappointment). How many new stores have Kroger/Ralphs/Food 4 Less/FoodsCo/QFC/Fred Meyer opened up in CA, OR, and WA (new stores, not relocations)? And how many are on the drawing board?

I can't even answer that question because I don't even know of any new stores out of them in the past few years...

And how many has Safeway/Albertsons opened as new stores (not relocations)?
03/2019- Safeway- Crocker- Sacramento
12/2019- Safeway- Puyllup, WA
06/2020- Safeway- El Dorado Hills, CA
Coming soon- Vons- Valley Center, CA
Coming soon- Safeway- Hercules, CA
NorCal Safeway has a few other stores in development around the bay area too but I am not clear if those are relocations so I skipped those. They also took an old Nob Hill building over in Monterey over which I'll skip as well since it isn't a new store per se.

It isn't much, but it out does Kroger.

[mbz321]

It looks like my neck of the woods (Warrington, PA) might be the first one to get a 'full sized' Amazon branded grocery store.

There has been a store in my area under construction for the past 6+ months that has been a complete mystery as to the future occupant. It was an old Genuardi's/Giant supermarket that was divided into ~35,000 sq feet (with only an indication of 'Leased Space' from the owner, and a vacant 13,000 foot chunk. It was driving me crazy as to what might open there. Turns out oddly enough, an article from a local radio station from a month ago let the cat out of the bag! Looks like this might be the first ever Amazon branded grocery store in the U.S. (afaik, there aren't any in operation yet). At the rate of construction, I say it will open before the end of the year. https://wpst.com/amazon-is-reportedly-o ... grocery-…/

This is a very competitive area as this location has a Target (same center), Walmart (adjoining center), BJ's (across the street from Walmart) and an Aldi (next center over from BJ's). Oh yeah, and a Wegmans right across the road in the other direction. Phew!