Amazon has started hiring for its new type of grocery store that’s nothing like Whole Foods Business Insider/Hayley Peterson
Months after reports surfaced that Amazon would be opening a new set of supermarkets, the e-commerce giant says it will be opening a new grocery store in Los Angeles.
The new store will be in the Woodland Hills community and open for business some time next year, according to an Amazon spokesperson.
Amazon wouldn’t say if the grocery would be a stand-alone or the start of a new chain, or what it would be called, but it did confirm that it would not be part of Whole Foods, the grocery chain Amazon bought for $13.7 billion in 2017.
“This new store offers another grocery option that’s distinct from Whole Foods Market, which continues to grow and remain the leader in quality natural and organic food,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Roughly eight months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was negotiating to open supermarkets in several cities.
While the news didn’t cause quite the same tremors as Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods two years ago, it did spark speculation about how the e-commerce company that upended the retail sector by speeding up the shift to online shopping might grab an even greater perch in the $750 billion grocery space.
Unlike Whole Foods, still largely known for its select foods and high prices, new Amazon markets were expected to offer different, more affordable offerings, and compete more directly with Walmart, the biggest grocery seller in the U.S., as well as Target.
Amazon said it didn’t have any details to share on pricing or the specific products the new California grocery would sell.
Amazon has previously introduced in a handful of cities a new grocery concept dubbed Amazon Go, where customers can pick up food items, scan an app, then walk out without dealing with a cashier. And Amazon shoppers can get groceries delivered through its Amazon Fresh option.
