7 ms·

Amazon Confirms Plans for Store Under New Grocery Brand

55 points by t23 7y ago

mc32 7y ago
I hope it’s doesn't copy “Amazon Basics”. Cus that stuff is worse than no frills brands. It’s okay for things where you have to actively sabotage something to make it poorly like wire shelves or something, but anything where cheapness shows up it’s like a cheap suit from J.C. Penney’s. <<shudder>>
- m463 7y ago
  On the other hand, buying toilet paper at whole foods sucks. (maybe that will change - post amazon, I noticed whole foods selling cheerios)
  - mc32 7y ago
    Are they carrying proper OTC medicines now? I don’t even bother looking because it’s mostly herbal and pseudo medicines. I just want some freaking cold medcine but noooo it’s gotta be “natural”.
    - SllX 7y ago
      Not the ones I’ve been to recently.
    - ianmcgowan 7y ago
      The one near us has ibuprofen now, and they don’t look at you like you’re killing the planet for asking for it.
- WWLink 7y ago
  I imagine it'll end up like Walmart did! First you get: "Here's our pretty good priced national brand stuff!" Then eventually you get "Our national brand stuff is well priced, but you can save some cash if you get our Equate brand stuff!" and eventually, "Here's our Equate stuff for the price you can get the national brand stuff for elsewhere if it's on sale."
- blibble 7y ago
  it could be worse, they could stock it with "co-mingled" products from their site
- chx 7y ago
  Amazon Basics USB C cables are some of the best. Just sayin'.
duncan-donuts 7y ago
This should be interesting. I’m sure they learned some things from the Whole Foods acquisition that should allow them to be competitive with Walmart and friends. Has amazon ever done well with any sort of B&M?
WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
This is one of their requirements for Grocery Associate "You are comfortable working in a physical environment. You have the ability to lift up to 49 pounds and be on your feet for a shift, up to 10 hours at a time with or without reasonable accommodation" They sure don't sugar coat it. "We are hiring for full-time, part-time, and flex-time positions. Pay starts at $15.35 per hour with benefits available." At least they have benefits.
- Mountain_Skies 7y ago
  I worked a 34 hour shift one time at a grocery store. Because of staffing issues, work hours can be quite chaotic. Didn't even get overtime for that shift though I did later in the week when I went over 40 hours total.
  - tim58 7y ago
    The CA law is 1.5x for the 8th-12th hour and 2x for the 12th hour plus [0]. Federally overtime is only required for non-exempt employees working more than 40hours a week, but other states have shift limiting laws as well. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm
    - Mountain_Skies 7y ago
      It was nice when I moved to California and started getting paid time and a half on Sundays, though I think that was by union contract rather than by law. It was eye opening to work in the same industry but in a "right to work" state and California.
      - tim58 7y ago
        > I think that was by union contract rather than by law. Time and a half on sundays is not CA state law. Source -- A guy that recently programmed overtime rules into a computer system.
- Touche 7y ago
dalfonso 7y ago
My bet is this will be very similar to Walmart Neighborhood Market. About the size of a drug store, will stock grocery essentials, and will have lower prices than traditional grocery stores (Safeway/VONS, Ralphs, Albertsons, QFC, etc.) A store like this might allow them to more cost effectively fulfill small items (deodorant, a pack of pens, batteries, aspirin, candy bars, etc.) by shipping from the store to your home.
- Operyl 7y ago
  Huh, the neighborhood markets are the size of drugstores near you? They’re the size of regular Walmart’s grocery sections here.
  - jngreenlee 7y ago
    Eh you're probably ant fucking, it's a fine comparison to draw versus big box stores. TBF, probably "2 Walgreens" would be a good comparison in some markets, or "classic grocery store" size.
    - dalfonso 7y ago
      Kudos to you. I just looked it up and the Walmart Neighborhood Market closest to me is ~30K sq. ft. while the CVS closest to me is 17.5K.
    - MrEldritch 7y ago
      > Eh you're probably ant fucking I must admit, I'm unfamiliar with this terminology.
- nihonde 7y ago
  The big innovation of 7/11 Japan that launched the convenience store craze in Japan was keeping as much stock as possible in lots of retail outlets and ready at point of sale instead of in warehouses.
  - helen___keller 7y ago
jt2190 7y ago
Here's what we know: * Will open in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, 2008 median household income was USD 93,720 [1]. I don't expect a discount-type store. * The Wall Street Journal says they're working on more stores, but this is the only one that Amazon has confirmed. Personally, I see this as more of an experiment at this point, even if a few more store open with this format. * Amazon is obsessed with the last-mile(s), in particular on same-day delivery. (Witness their last earnings report.) I'd look at this store as a test-bed for last-mile/same-day... Perhaps they'll double or triple the size of the Amazon Fresh areas over what we see now in Whole Foods, for example. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Hills,_Los_Angeles#Population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Hills,_Los_Angeles#Po...
yalogin 7y ago
My only question is will these damn stores be out in the open with cameras recording everyone that walks by or will they be inside four walls?
Nataz75 7y ago
coolo
purplezooey 7y ago
Nothing's going to be left of retail except pet foods, Michael's and services like haircuts clinics.

55 points by t23 7y ago

mc32 7y ago

I hope it’s doesn't copy “Amazon Basics”. Cus that stuff is worse than no frills brands. It’s okay for things where you have to actively sabotage something to make it poorly like wire shelves or something, but anything where cheapness shows up it’s like a cheap suit from J.C. Penney’s. <<shudder>>

m463 7y ago
On the other hand, buying toilet paper at whole foods sucks. (maybe that will change - post amazon, I noticed whole foods selling cheerios)
- mc32 7y ago
  Are they carrying proper OTC medicines now? I don’t even bother looking because it’s mostly herbal and pseudo medicines. I just want some freaking cold medcine but noooo it’s gotta be “natural”.
  - SllX 7y ago
    Not the ones I’ve been to recently.
  - ianmcgowan 7y ago
    The one near us has ibuprofen now, and they don’t look at you like you’re killing the planet for asking for it.
WWLink 7y ago
I imagine it'll end up like Walmart did! First you get: "Here's our pretty good priced national brand stuff!" Then eventually you get "Our national brand stuff is well priced, but you can save some cash if you get our Equate brand stuff!" and eventually, "Here's our Equate stuff for the price you can get the national brand stuff for elsewhere if it's on sale."
blibble 7y ago
it could be worse, they could stock it with "co-mingled" products from their site
chx 7y ago
Amazon Basics USB C cables are some of the best. Just sayin'.

duncan-donuts 7y ago

This should be interesting. I’m sure they learned some things from the Whole Foods acquisition that should allow them to be competitive with Walmart and friends. Has amazon ever done well with any sort of B&M?

WheelsAtLarge 7y ago

This is one of their requirements for Grocery Associate "You are comfortable working in a physical environment. You have the ability to lift up to 49 pounds and be on your feet for a shift, up to 10 hours at a time with or without reasonable accommodation" They sure don't sugar coat it. "We are hiring for full-time, part-time, and flex-time positions. Pay starts at $15.35 per hour with benefits available." At least they have benefits.

Mountain_Skies 7y ago
I worked a 34 hour shift one time at a grocery store. Because of staffing issues, work hours can be quite chaotic. Didn't even get overtime for that shift though I did later in the week when I went over 40 hours total.
- tim58 7y ago
  The CA law is 1.5x for the 8th-12th hour and 2x for the 12th hour plus [0]. Federally overtime is only required for non-exempt employees working more than 40hours a week, but other states have shift limiting laws as well. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm
  - Mountain_Skies 7y ago
    It was nice when I moved to California and started getting paid time and a half on Sundays, though I think that was by union contract rather than by law. It was eye opening to work in the same industry but in a "right to work" state and California.
    - tim58 7y ago
      > I think that was by union contract rather than by law. Time and a half on sundays is not CA state law. Source -- A guy that recently programmed overtime rules into a computer system.
Touche 7y ago

dalfonso 7y ago

My bet is this will be very similar to Walmart Neighborhood Market. About the size of a drug store, will stock grocery essentials, and will have lower prices than traditional grocery stores (Safeway/VONS, Ralphs, Albertsons, QFC, etc.) A store like this might allow them to more cost effectively fulfill small items (deodorant, a pack of pens, batteries, aspirin, candy bars, etc.) by shipping from the store to your home.

Operyl 7y ago
Huh, the neighborhood markets are the size of drugstores near you? They’re the size of regular Walmart’s grocery sections here.
- jngreenlee 7y ago
  Eh you're probably ant fucking, it's a fine comparison to draw versus big box stores. TBF, probably "2 Walgreens" would be a good comparison in some markets, or "classic grocery store" size.
  - dalfonso 7y ago
    Kudos to you. I just looked it up and the Walmart Neighborhood Market closest to me is ~30K sq. ft. while the CVS closest to me is 17.5K.
  - MrEldritch 7y ago
    > Eh you're probably ant fucking I must admit, I'm unfamiliar with this terminology.
nihonde 7y ago
The big innovation of 7/11 Japan that launched the convenience store craze in Japan was keeping as much stock as possible in lots of retail outlets and ready at point of sale instead of in warehouses.
- helen___keller 7y ago

jt2190 7y ago

Here's what we know: * Will open in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, 2008 median household income was USD 93,720 [1]. I don't expect a discount-type store. * The Wall Street Journal says they're working on more stores, but this is the only one that Amazon has confirmed. Personally, I see this as more of an experiment at this point, even if a few more store open with this format. * Amazon is obsessed with the last-mile(s), in particular on same-day delivery. (Witness their last earnings report.) I'd look at this store as a test-bed for last-mile/same-day... Perhaps they'll double or triple the size of the Amazon Fresh areas over what we see now in Whole Foods, for example. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Hills,_Los_Angeles#Population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Hills,_Los_Angeles#Po...

yalogin 7y ago

My only question is will these damn stores be out in the open with cameras recording everyone that walks by or will they be inside four walls?

Nataz75 7y ago

coolo

purplezooey 7y ago

Nothing's going to be left of retail except pet foods, Michael's and services like haircuts clinics.