I don’t think we need another grocery chain competing for a continually smaller piece of the pie. If Whole Foods planned to eliminate their main brand in favor of their new 365 stores, then I would agree. But shouldn’t Whole Foods concentrate on making their main brand as successful as possible before investing in another concept? Since Amazon took over Whole Foods, we have read about many issues taking place like items being out of stock, which does not make the customer happy. Focus on what you have and make it the best it can before tackling something new.

However I do like the idea of a partnership with Kohl’s, whether it be a hybrid of Whole Foods’ main brand or their new 365 concept. Now we’re acting smart — what does Kohl’s know about food? Not much. So bringing in a partner that is already in the food business is smart and makes keen business sense.

Amazon + 365 + Go is a recipe for store reinvention. The amazing thing about Amazon’s innovation curve is that it is both iterative and cumulative. The first Go store is not the final format for Amazon convenience. Nor is the expansion of the 365 concept the final iteration of Whole Foods for urban environments.

Rest assured that Amazon’s deep capacity to learn by testing will rapidly evolve to a number of hybrid formats that are the epitome of customer-centricity. A 365 store opening next to Apple, that can fit in a Kohl’s, should be striking fear in the board room of every retailer.

In essence, 365 is a response to the fact that the mainstream Whole Foods proposition has problems. Rather than solve those problems, the company elected to develop a new format.

To be fair, a multi-format approach makes some sense when targeting a range of customer segments, or when covering locations with different needs. However, the first iterations of 365 were not particularly impressive, nor did they show much forward thinking.

I expect Amazon will shake things up a little, and may even look to blend the best of their own Go format with the good points of 365.

I’m interested to see whether 365 stores cannibalize existing full-line stores, especially as Amazon pushes Whole Foods prices downward to be more competitive. And I’m also curious to see how the tech advances being tested in Amazon Go are applied to a 365 store. (Yes, Amazon has said that it doesn’t plan to apply the cashier-less model to full-service Whole Foods stores.) Meanwhile, the tie-up with Kohl’s is intriguing. For those needing a history lesson, Kohl’s began as a grocery chain decades ago, and the department stores were started in 1962 as a side-by-side concept rather than “under one roof.” (I worked for Kohl’s from 1982 to 2006.) Eventually the two divisions were separated, the food stores sold to A&P and closed a while ago. Kohl’s has “right-sized” several stores and probably has 20,000 square feet to spare in these stores — but the locations with extra space may not be the most desirable locations to begin with and (as Target learned) dropping a grocery department in the middle of a mass merchant is not… Read more »

Why draw the line at food? Perhaps add a little hardware, maybe some name-brand tools and, for those really oversized stores, a few of those must-have washing machines? At what point does a department store trying to be a shopping mall fail at both?

Future generations of the Whole Foods Market 365 concept will include private label expansion, tech and possibly partnerships. The 365 private brand hits so many trends that Millennials care about, including: Organic, natural, sustainable, local, corporate social responsibility, artisan and culinary products to appeal to younger shoppers’ health and wellness lifestyle. Amazon has invested in private label groceries and apparel, proving it’s a strategic priority. Line extension and expansion to the 365 brand will help Amazon gain greater control over speed to market, process efficiencies and costs — and the exclusivity will boost loyalty. I also expect more omnichannel evolution, including 365 e-grocery, voice ordering and in-store tech such as checkout-free shopping. 365 stores will expand the company’s market reach. That’s because 365 is dedicated to younger shoppers, selling more affordable products while delivering the convenience of a smaller format for busy shoppers. Meanwhile, the mainline stores will still appeal to more “seasoned,” upscale, urban consumers, who may enjoy browsing the more spacious stores. I wondered about Amazon’s partnership with Kohl’s: It didn’t make sense… Read more »