WASHINGTON, August 30, 2017 - Amazon celebrated its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market last week by immediately cutting prices on a wide range of products, a sign that Amazon is serious about doing battle with competitors such as Costco, Kroger and Wal-Mart stores.
Amazon acted after the Federal Trade Commission gave the green light to the purchase. The FTC said it had looked at the proposed deal and found no indication the acquisition would substantially lessen competition or constitute unfair competition. Some examples of the price cuts Amazon posted on its first day as the new owner of Whole Foods: bananas, 38 percent; Tilapia, 33 percent; animal-welfare rated 85 percent lean ground beef (per pound), 29 percent; organic Fuji apples, 43 percent; organic rotisserie chicken, 29 percent.
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