Is NYC part of the 20 markets?: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/04/net-us-amazon-grocery-idUSBRE95311Q20130604 Amazon plans big expansion of online grocery business: sources By Alistair Barr SAN FRANCISCO | Tue Jun 4, 2013 4:59pm EDT (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is planning a major roll-out of an online grocery business that it has been quietly developing for years, targeting one of the... [more]
Is NYC part of the 20 markets?:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/04/net-us-amazon-grocery-idUSBRE95311Q20130604
Amazon plans big expansion of online grocery business: sources
By Alistair Barr
SAN FRANCISCO | Tue Jun 4, 2013 4:59pm EDT
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is planning a major roll-out of an online grocery business that it has been quietly developing for years, targeting one of the largest retail sectors yet to be upended by e-commerce, according to two people familiar with the situation.
While food is a low-margin business, Amazon could outperform similar online grocery services by delivering orders for higher-margin items like electronics at the same time.
One of the people familiar with AmazonFresh's expansion plans said new warehouses will have refrigerated areas for food, but also space nearby to store up to one million general merchandise products, in some cases.
The company has been testing AmazonFresh in its hometown of Seattle for at least five years, delivering fresh produce such as eggs, strawberries and meat with its own fleet of trucks.
Amazon is now planning to expand its grocery business outside Seattle for the first time, starting with Los Angeles as early as this week and the San Francisco Bay Area later this year, according to the two people who were not authorized to speak publicly.
If those new locations go well, the company may launch AmazonFresh in 20 other urban areas in 2014, including some outside the United States, said one of the people.
Bill Bishop, a prominent supermarket analyst and consultant, said the company was targeting as many as 40 markets, without divulging how he knew of Amazon's plans.
An Amazon spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Amazon is searching for new, large markets to enter as the company tries to maintain a growth rate that has fueled a 220 percent surge in its shares over the past five years. The grocery business in the United States, which generated $568 billion in retail sales last year, may be a ripe target.
Amazon's expansion plans are a potential threat to grocery chains such as Kroger Co, Safeway Inc and Whole Foods Market, as well as general-merchandise retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, which also sell a lot of groceries.
"Amazon has been testing this for years and now it's time for them to harvest what they've learned by expanding outside Seattle," said Bishop, chief architect at Brick Meets Click, a consulting firm focused on retail technology.
"The fear is that grocery is a loss leader and Amazon will make a profit on sales of other products ordered online at the same time," he said. "That's an awesomely scary prospect for the grocery business."
Kroger, Whole Foods, Supervalu and Safeway did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Target declined to comment.
A successful foray into groceries could also help underwrite the development of a broad-based delivery service employing Amazon trucks to deliver directly to homes, which could have implications for UPS, FedEx and other package delivery companies that currently ship Amazon goods.
Still, groceries have proven to be one of the most difficult sectors for online retailers to crack. One of the most richly funded start-ups of the dot-com era, Webvan, was a spectacular failure as the cost of developing the warehouse and delivery infrastructure proved overwhelming.
Roger Davidson, a former grocery executive at Wal-Mart and Supervalu, said Amazon will struggle to make money from AmazonFresh because fresh produce can easily go out of date in storage warehouses and get damaged during delivery - something known as "shrink" in the business.
"Will it work? I would bet against it," Davidson said. "The reasons these businesses have failed in the past have not gone away."
COMPETITION
Still, Amazon is not alone in wanting to expand in the online grocery business.
Wal-Mart is testing same-day and next-day delivery of online grocery and general merchandise orders in the San Francisco Bay Area and operates a grocery delivery business in Britain.
"We are ready and able to expand grocery delivery in the U.S. as the market demands," Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Toporek said.
FreshDirect delivers food to homes and offices in some parts of New York City and its trying to expand its service into the Bronx.
Peapod, owned by international food giant Royal Ahold NV, says on its website that it is the largest Internet grocer in the United States, delivering more than 23 million orders across 24 markets.
Davidson, who worked with Peapod for several years during stint at Ahold USA, said Peapod struggled to make money for most of its existence. But he believes it now turns a small profit due to supply chain efficiencies, population density in Chicago and its connection to brick and mortar stores on the east coast.
Davidson favors a strategy he called "Click and Connect" which is being used by Harris Teeter, a food and pharmacy chain on the East Coast of the United States. Customers order food online and choose a time to pick up the produce from designated areas outside the company's stores. There is a $4.95 service fee for this.
"Traditional grocery retailers will likely fight back against Amazon with Click and Connect," he added.
It is not clear whether AmazonFresh in Seattle is profitable because Amazon does not disclose results from the business.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos was asked about the business during the company's annual shareholder meeting last month and he said that the team had "made progress on the economics over the last year."
"They've been doing a lot of experiments and trying to get the right mixture of customer experience and economics," he added.
COMBINED ORDERS
If online orders also include higher-margin general merchandise such as digital cameras, then AmazonFresh has a chance at profitability, said Manfred Bluemel of Zeitgeist Research, who was head of market research worldwide at Amazon until late 2010.
"Grocery is a frequency business. If Amazon can deliver to consumers' homes two or three times a week, they can up-sell other items," he said.
Bluemel said AmazonFresh's expansion will likely focus on areas where Amazon already offers same-day delivery, or will do so soon.
Amazon offers same-day delivery in several cities including New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago, and since last year the company has been building new distribution warehouses on the outskirts of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.
(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Additional reporting by Dhanya Skariachan and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tim Dobbyn)
[less]
Response by Riversider
over 12 years ago
Posts: 13572
Member since: Apr 2009
Competition is a wonderful thing.
I recently bought a bunch of canned goods for premium products at 33% discounts to what local merchants were charging by going the Amazon route. One example is Flott Tuna which Amazon had for $4 a can versus $6 at Fairway.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by hofo
over 12 years ago
Posts: 453
Member since: Sep 2008
Amazon can easily move to NYC by buying up FreshDirect, if price is right. Otherwise, I don't see how FD can compete with Amazon since Amazon can afford to lose money on some of the food items but make it up on other merchandise. I love Amazon.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by yikes
over 12 years ago
Posts: 1016
Member since: Mar 2012
i hate amazon--it's hard to know when you are dealing with them or some schlock "store" which markets through them.
yesterday the typical happened: i ordered product forct "amazon", paid extra for "2day" delivery, only to be told to expect delivery on the 10th! from some schlock shop with no phone number.
so often things go poorly with ordering, and then it's challenging to negotiate the site to modify or cancel orders. and, of course, even thinking of getting a human on the phone, or to respond to an email, is a joke.
much prefer dealing directly with reputable vendors.
amazon is ok for books and the like, and direct video, and whatever they actual stock and deliver themselves,--bu the rest is just a mess one neednt deal with.
FD does deal a lot with local farms and the like. I don't know if they will have enough produce to deal with Amazon. A buyout would be interesting. Customers are also more loyal than you think. Depends on how good the meat, fish and fresh foods can be - they are good from FD. Canned stuff and groceries are different. I buy cereal on sale at the drug stores. Nobody sells them cheaper. You can get them for like $2 instead of 5-7 in the markets which is absurd for a box of cereal but that is Manhattan.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Riversider
over 12 years ago
Posts: 13572
Member since: Apr 2009
I would be surprised if Fresh Direct has strong customer loyalty. Unlike a brick and mortar store, there's not a great deal of face to face contact with employees and many of the products are available via multiple distribution channels. There's very little that's unique with Fresh Direct. The purchase price would most be for the infrastructure(trucks, ware-house facilities etc). I would not be surprised if they have a high turn-over rate on customers, new ones coming , old ones getting dis-enfranchised, and some who only buy once or twice and don't like it.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by alanhart
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12397
Member since: Feb 2007
Amazon faces a very steep learning curve regarding NY traffic logistics, as well as a union battle of the sort that has Walmart shut out of the city of NY. That puts their warehouses in the burbs. Good luck with that.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by aboutready
over 12 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007
You are so ignorant. FD is a godsend for people with families, particularly young ones and teens. I greatly prefer TJ's (although not for produce), Costco (for some things) but I still place at least one FD order per week. I think those who are not ancient are shopping in a different way than those of the past. I'm in a small building and I see soap.com deliveries and FD virtually every day. Not everyone has the time or inclination to hobble over to the loathsome Fairway and very expensive Citarella on a regular basis.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
>You are so ignorant. FD is a godsend for people with families, particularly young ones and teens.
We feel for you. This is NYC, not Tacoma, things aren't so simple here.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by aboutready
over 12 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007
I'm more than capable. I worked and had a baby/toddler in the dark ages when nobody delivered. Yes, I can do it, but why would I want to, as a rule? The rest of your post is just nonsense, not unusual for you.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Riversider
over 12 years ago
Posts: 13572
Member since: Apr 2009
Service at fresh direct is not that great. If another guy came in and under-cut Fresh Direct their customers would flea at once. Go onto Yelp.com or other review sites, and you the case for a loyal clientele is hard to make. I used them twice. They were ok, but they got one order wrong, and another time produce came damaged. Seen their delivery guys outside and it all makes sense.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by columbiacounty
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12708
Member since: Jan 2009
What was it about their delivery guys that immediately tipped you off?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by alanhart
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12397
Member since: Feb 2007
It was the fleas ... pay attention.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
aboutready
about 1 hour ago
Posts: 15429
Member since: Oct 2007
ignore this person
report abuse
I'm more than capable. I worked and had a baby/toddler in the dark ages when nobody delivered.
Was that 5 years ago or 10 years ago?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
columbiacounty
29 minutes ago
Posts: 11912
Member since: Jan 2009
ignore this person
report abuse
What was it about their delivery guys that immediately tipped you off?
Do they have Fresh Direct in C0lumbia C0unty?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by columbiacounty
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12708
Member since: Jan 2009
you're the expert. tell us.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
Do they deliver venison?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by columbiacounty
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12708
Member since: Jan 2009
you must know.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by aboutready
over 12 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007
Well then, RS would prefer to buy his overpriced cream cheese at fairway so we should all heed his advice.
FD is like the Nordstrom of the food world. Send them a complaint and the problem is fixed immediately. Open some decent looking bananas and they aren't so great? Send an e-mail, you'll get a refund. The fleas came from inside RS's RSD apartment.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
>Open some decent looking bananas and they aren't so great? Send an e-mail, you'll get a refund.
You've done that? Gotten a refund on your bananas? 99c?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by alanhart
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12397
Member since: Feb 2007
That's bananas
b a n a n a s
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
99c
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by aboutready
over 12 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007
Why not? It's all part of an account. I assure you that restaurants don't pay for sub-par goods. You can't select your own goods at FD, so they have a liberal refund policy. I've only complained a few times, and usually it was due to something being missing or a milk gallon leaking, etc. but i find I don't have to complain often because they do quite well.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
So how many bananas did you get a refund on?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by columbiacounty
over 12 years ago
Posts: 12708
Member since: Jan 2009
are you reform or conversative?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by aboutready
over 12 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007
Piss off. It was an example.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
I'm the same as I have always been: conservative financially, moderately liberal socially, and conversative online.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
So, AR, 1 banana and 1 gallon of milk? 2 bananas and a half gallon of grass fed milk?
What is this and Why are we doing this???? This blog is about how to keep the dream alive.We all have so much to bring to the table but the table is never big enough and we can never sit down long enough to be fully satiated.
So, we thought we could provide a forum for people to talk about food. Producers of food, consumers of food and all of the people in between who care about food and how it affects the health of our kids and our community.
The community I speak of is Columbia County, New York. We live in a gorgeous, fertile valley surrounded by fields and fields of food, but many resdients of Columbia County never get a taste of this local food because it's either hard to get to or too expensive to buy. I, personally, can not walk to a banana and I live in the middle of Hudson, a city of 7000 people.
This is why we starting a forum where everyone can meet and talk and find information on many different subjects. We would like farmers, foodies, educators, politicians and residents to be able to check in and see what's going on in the local farm and food scene.
Posted by kari777 at 3/08/2011 09:57:00 AM
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by aboutready
over 12 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007
I tried to read you, but hell, it wasn't worth it,
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by greensdale
over 12 years ago
Posts: 3804
Member since: Sep 2012
No problem, it was for C0C0, not you.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Riversider
over 12 years ago
Posts: 13572
Member since: Apr 2009
Just saw one of the Fresh Direct guys delivering groceries this a.m. He was rolling his cart over the curb when it tipped over dumping all the boxes. This isn't the first time I've seen this. Of course the customers will never be told.
AmazonFresh will only be offered in Park Slope "initially" but you have to be a member of Amazon Prime ($99) a year and if you wish to continue with the service in 2015 you MUST upgrade to Prime Fresh for $299.
Why would you do this over Fresh Direct or any of the other grocery services?
'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Competition is a wonderful thing.
I recently bought a bunch of canned goods for premium products at 33% discounts to what local merchants were charging by going the Amazon route. One example is Flott Tuna which Amazon had for $4 a can versus $6 at Fairway.
Amazon can easily move to NYC by buying up FreshDirect, if price is right. Otherwise, I don't see how FD can compete with Amazon since Amazon can afford to lose money on some of the food items but make it up on other merchandise. I love Amazon.
i hate amazon--it's hard to know when you are dealing with them or some schlock "store" which markets through them.
yesterday the typical happened: i ordered product forct "amazon", paid extra for "2day" delivery, only to be told to expect delivery on the 10th! from some schlock shop with no phone number.
so often things go poorly with ordering, and then it's challenging to negotiate the site to modify or cancel orders. and, of course, even thinking of getting a human on the phone, or to respond to an email, is a joke.
much prefer dealing directly with reputable vendors.
amazon is ok for books and the like, and direct video, and whatever they actual stock and deliver themselves,--bu the rest is just a mess one neednt deal with.
Other items available on Amazon:
http://www.nydailynews.com/1.1363361
FD does deal a lot with local farms and the like. I don't know if they will have enough produce to deal with Amazon. A buyout would be interesting. Customers are also more loyal than you think. Depends on how good the meat, fish and fresh foods can be - they are good from FD. Canned stuff and groceries are different. I buy cereal on sale at the drug stores. Nobody sells them cheaper. You can get them for like $2 instead of 5-7 in the markets which is absurd for a box of cereal but that is Manhattan.
I would be surprised if Fresh Direct has strong customer loyalty. Unlike a brick and mortar store, there's not a great deal of face to face contact with employees and many of the products are available via multiple distribution channels. There's very little that's unique with Fresh Direct. The purchase price would most be for the infrastructure(trucks, ware-house facilities etc). I would not be surprised if they have a high turn-over rate on customers, new ones coming , old ones getting dis-enfranchised, and some who only buy once or twice and don't like it.
Amazon faces a very steep learning curve regarding NY traffic logistics, as well as a union battle of the sort that has Walmart shut out of the city of NY. That puts their warehouses in the burbs. Good luck with that.
You are so ignorant. FD is a godsend for people with families, particularly young ones and teens. I greatly prefer TJ's (although not for produce), Costco (for some things) but I still place at least one FD order per week. I think those who are not ancient are shopping in a different way than those of the past. I'm in a small building and I see soap.com deliveries and FD virtually every day. Not everyone has the time or inclination to hobble over to the loathsome Fairway and very expensive Citarella on a regular basis.
>You are so ignorant. FD is a godsend for people with families, particularly young ones and teens.
We feel for you. This is NYC, not Tacoma, things aren't so simple here.
I'm more than capable. I worked and had a baby/toddler in the dark ages when nobody delivered. Yes, I can do it, but why would I want to, as a rule? The rest of your post is just nonsense, not unusual for you.
Service at fresh direct is not that great. If another guy came in and under-cut Fresh Direct their customers would flea at once. Go onto Yelp.com or other review sites, and you the case for a loyal clientele is hard to make. I used them twice. They were ok, but they got one order wrong, and another time produce came damaged. Seen their delivery guys outside and it all makes sense.
What was it about their delivery guys that immediately tipped you off?
It was the fleas ... pay attention.
aboutready
about 1 hour ago
Posts: 15429
Member since: Oct 2007
ignore this person
report abuse
I'm more than capable. I worked and had a baby/toddler in the dark ages when nobody delivered.
Was that 5 years ago or 10 years ago?
columbiacounty
29 minutes ago
Posts: 11912
Member since: Jan 2009
ignore this person
report abuse
What was it about their delivery guys that immediately tipped you off?
Do they have Fresh Direct in C0lumbia C0unty?
you're the expert. tell us.
Do they deliver venison?
you must know.
Well then, RS would prefer to buy his overpriced cream cheese at fairway so we should all heed his advice.
FD is like the Nordstrom of the food world. Send them a complaint and the problem is fixed immediately. Open some decent looking bananas and they aren't so great? Send an e-mail, you'll get a refund. The fleas came from inside RS's RSD apartment.
>Open some decent looking bananas and they aren't so great? Send an e-mail, you'll get a refund.
You've done that? Gotten a refund on your bananas? 99c?
That's bananas
b a n a n a s
99c
Why not? It's all part of an account. I assure you that restaurants don't pay for sub-par goods. You can't select your own goods at FD, so they have a liberal refund policy. I've only complained a few times, and usually it was due to something being missing or a milk gallon leaking, etc. but i find I don't have to complain often because they do quite well.
So how many bananas did you get a refund on?
are you reform or conversative?
Piss off. It was an example.
I'm the same as I have always been: conservative financially, moderately liberal socially, and conversative online.
So, AR, 1 banana and 1 gallon of milk? 2 bananas and a half gallon of grass fed milk?
Clearly cat food.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbw_k3hTWpM
You returned cat food?
I can't decide if you are more like beavis or butthead. I think the latter.
oh look...
riversider has tubed.
Do they have bananas in C0lumbia C0unty?
tell us.
you know you're dying to.
Well, there's http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/Hudson-Valley-Resources/Nightlife/index.php/name/Bananas-Comedy-Club-Poughkeepsie/listing/15318/ but Poughkeepsie is a little drive from C0lumbia C0unty.
So C0C0, have you ever returned a banana to the grocery store like Aboutready has because they were "decent looking" but "[not] so great?"
I can't hear you ... I have a banana in my ear!
http://youtu.be/EJ1a0ymGCKA
greensdale
2 days ago
Posts: 2840
Member since: Sep 2012
ignore this person
report abuse
Do they have bananas in C0lumbia C0unty?
columbiacounty
2 days ago
Posts: 11918
Member since: Jan 2009
ignore this person
report abuse
tell us.
you know you're dying to.
http://cocofarmconnection.blogspot.com/2011/03/columbia-county-farm-connection.html
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Columbia County Farm Connection
Welcome to our little blogsite!
What is this and Why are we doing this???? This blog is about how to keep the dream alive.We all have so much to bring to the table but the table is never big enough and we can never sit down long enough to be fully satiated.
So, we thought we could provide a forum for people to talk about food. Producers of food, consumers of food and all of the people in between who care about food and how it affects the health of our kids and our community.
The community I speak of is Columbia County, New York. We live in a gorgeous, fertile valley surrounded by fields and fields of food, but many resdients of Columbia County never get a taste of this local food because it's either hard to get to or too expensive to buy. I, personally, can not walk to a banana and I live in the middle of Hudson, a city of 7000 people.
This is why we starting a forum where everyone can meet and talk and find information on many different subjects. We would like farmers, foodies, educators, politicians and residents to be able to check in and see what's going on in the local farm and food scene.
Posted by kari777 at 3/08/2011 09:57:00 AM
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
I tried to read you, but hell, it wasn't worth it,
No problem, it was for C0C0, not you.
Just saw one of the Fresh Direct guys delivering groceries this a.m. He was rolling his cart over the curb when it tipped over dumping all the boxes. This isn't the first time I've seen this. Of course the customers will never be told.
>Of course the customers will never be told.
what would you expect them to be told?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/12/10/it-was-illegal-for-amazon-to-shoot-that-drone-video-in-the-united-states-so-it-went-abroad/
AmazonFresh will only be offered in Park Slope "initially" but you have to be a member of Amazon Prime ($99) a year and if you wish to continue with the service in 2015 you MUST upgrade to Prime Fresh for $299.
Why would you do this over Fresh Direct or any of the other grocery services?