AMZN - Amazon.com Inc.

[racemize]

http://searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/2051

 

http://blog.searsholdings.com/eddie-lampert/kenmore-products-now-available-on-amazon-com/

 

I have a question regarding this for people who understand amazon. the terms of the deal were not disclosed. i am trying to wrap my head around this, this is the first time amazon has partnered with someone to sell home appliances.

 

How would amazon look at this deal, is:

 

- sears just another seller

or

- sears a strategic partner (with the logistic capabilities and a home services/installation/warranty business), they will use to aggressively enter the home appliance market.  i.e. more like a long term partnership where they mainly push the kenmore products on amazon?

 

any insights would be helpful.

 

 

ask borders how that "partnership" went.

 

that is your insight? ask borders? which border? mexican/US border?

 

i would ban you if i ran this site

 

Borders was a bookstore that partnered with Amazon.  A basic Google search would get you there.

[dyow]

http://searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/2051

 

http://blog.searsholdings.com/eddie-lampert/kenmore-products-now-available-on-amazon-com/

 

I have a question regarding this for people who understand amazon. the terms of the deal were not disclosed. i am trying to wrap my head around this, this is the first time amazon has partnered with someone to sell home appliances.

 

How would amazon look at this deal, is:

 

- sears just another seller

or

- sears a strategic partner (with the logistic capabilities and a home services/installation/warranty business), they will use to aggressively enter the home appliance market.  i.e. more like a long term partnership where they mainly push the kenmore products on amazon?

 

any insights would be helpful.

 

 

ask borders how that "partnership" went.

 

that is your insight? ask borders? which border? mexican/US border?

 

i would ban you if i ran this site

 

Borders was a bookstore that partnered with Amazon.  A basic Google search would get you there.

 

Are you slow?

 

You cannot compare a book store to a home appliance store with US wide logistics and a home delivery/installation/repair/warranty business that cannot be replicated. amazon does not look at a bookstore the same way it looks at sears' home appliance business.

 

The poster who posted about "borders" just felt like posting useless info to be condescending, he did not think it through and neither did you with your response.

 

I knew i shouldn't have asked a question here, it is a waste of time..

 

[LC]

amazon does not look at a bookstore the same way it looks at sears' home appliance business.

 

But does Amazon look at partnerships with third parties the same way, or do they not? That is the argument being made: that any "partnership" will be eventually be dominated by Amazon.

 

Can we name a third party retailer that has a successful, sustainable and long-term partnership with Amazon?

 

that is your insight? ask borders? which border? mexican/US border?

 

i would ban you if i ran this site

 

Are you slow?

 

The poster who posted about "borders" just felt like posting useless info to be condescending, he did not think it through and neither did you with your response.

 

I knew i shouldn't have asked a question here, it is a waste of time..

 

Real classy stuff.

[racemize]

http://searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/2051

 

http://blog.searsholdings.com/eddie-lampert/kenmore-products-now-available-on-amazon-com/

 

I have a question regarding this for people who understand amazon. the terms of the deal were not disclosed. i am trying to wrap my head around this, this is the first time amazon has partnered with someone to sell home appliances.

 

How would amazon look at this deal, is:

 

- sears just another seller

or

- sears a strategic partner (with the logistic capabilities and a home services/installation/warranty business), they will use to aggressively enter the home appliance market.  i.e. more like a long term partnership where they mainly push the kenmore products on amazon?

 

any insights would be helpful.

 

 

ask borders how that "partnership" went.

 

that is your insight? ask borders? which border? mexican/US border?

 

i would ban you if i ran this site

 

Borders was a bookstore that partnered with Amazon.  A basic Google search would get you there.

 

Are you slow?

 

You cannot compare a book store to a home appliance store with US wide logistics and a home delivery/installation/repair/warranty business that cannot be replicated. amazon does not look at a bookstore the same way it looks at sears' home appliance business.

 

The poster who posted about "borders" just felt like posting useless info to be condescending, he did not think it through and neither did you with your response.

 

I knew i shouldn't have asked a question here, it is a waste of time..

 

Well it certainly seemed like you had no understanding of what he was saying: "which border? mexican/US border?"

 

I was helping you understand what the word "borders" meant, since it was clear you didn't.  However, it appears you are just being a dick at this point.  So have a good day.

[dyow]

"Can we name a third party retailer that has a successful, sustainable and long-term partnership with Amazon?"

 

Yes whole foods but instead of partnering, they bought them out.

 

 

[rkbabang]

"Can we name a third party retailer that has a successful, sustainable and long-term partnership with Amazon?"

 

Yes whole foods but instead of partnering, they bought them out.

 

 

The deal hasn't closed yet, so it is a brand new partnership not a long term one.  Are you predicting that Amazon will buy Sears?

 

[LC]

"Can we name a third party retailer that has a successful, sustainable and long-term partnership with Amazon?"

 

Yes whole foods but instead of partnering, they bought them out.

 

Huh?

 

We have no idea how successful or sustainable whole fools will be under amazon ownership, and it's not a partnership (and certainly not a long-term partnership) because amazon just recently announced they will acquire whole foods.

[Parsad]

Don't get personal guys.  Make your arguments without insulting one another.  Cheers!

[dyow]

I think amazon will view each seller differently.  Most sellers don't have much strategic value to amazon. 

 

The Whole foods acquisition is new, and technically not a partnership, but amazon bought it bc it saw value in whole foods as a seller, it saw something that made sense for them long term.  I guess i see it as a forced partnership.

 

I don't think amazon would buy sears.   

 

I'll take this conversation into the sears thread.

[Liberty]

I think they bought Whole Foods in large part to get critical mass in perishable food. Until you reach critical mass, you can't compete, because too much of your inventory goes bad and/or you don't have what people want when they want it.

 

With acceptable inventory turnover velocity from the existing WF stores, they can then start to expand their Fresh offerings outside of the stores using WF's logistics and supply chain as foundation.

 

I'm sure there are many other reasons, like their ability to increase the value of their Prime membership somehow and push it to more people in person and the ability to increase growth at WF by lowering margins, etc.

[LC]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-food-idUSKBN1AR11X?utm_source=applenews

[Jurgis]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-food-idUSKBN1AR11X?utm_source=applenews

 

Let's see how this goes. As someone who buys frozen meals, I'd be interested in non-frozen prepared meals at right quality and (cheap) price. 8)

 

Currently a lot of frozen meal prices are approaching our (subsidized) cafeteria prices making them not worthwhile. My magic limit is ~$5. Trader Joe's still cheap.  8)

[KCLarkin]

Further to my Amazon marketplace as cesspool rant, I received this email today:

 

You may have heard about counterfeit eclipse glasses being sold on Amazon. I can assure you that our glasses are authentic, safe to use for the eclipse and have not been recalled. We purchase all of our eclipse glasses directly from the manufacturer, Rainbow Symphony, an eclipse glasses supplier recommended by NASA and the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Your eclipse glasses have undergone rigorous testing to prove that they meet ISO 12312-2 safety standards.

 

I am a professional astronomer and I feel a moral obligation to provide high-quality eclipse glasses to Canadians so that we can safely view the eclipse. These are the same glasses that we are using at my University for our public viewing event.

 

Enjoy the eclipse and let's hope for clear skies! Please let me know if you have any further questions. 

 

Cheers,

-Kat

East of the Pines

 

The potential consequence of using counterfeit eclipse glasses is permanent blindness. At some point, governments need to make these "marketplaces" legally liable for the products sold on their platform.

[LongTermView]

We all know Amazon competes well on price. The https://www.wsj.com/articles/parts-suppliers-take-a-hit-from-the-amazon-effect-1503230400 article is making me think more about how they compete on speed:

Melanie Lichtfeld, owner of a Madison, Wis.-based plumbing company, used to tell customers they could wait weeks to buy their new kitchen sink from a local supplier. Now she orders the parts she needs on Amazon.com and they arrive two days later.

 

Ms. Lichtfeld is one of a growing number of plumbers, electricians and other contractors starting to buy industrial parts online. As part of its business-to-business marketplace offering, Amazon.com Inc. now sells everything from light switches to hydraulic valves, and last month boasted it had one million customers across fields that also included health-care and office supplies.

 

Amazon is joining a host of online sellers shaking up the roughly $130 billion U.S. market for items that keep factories humming and the plumbing working.

 

This makes me think twice about the prospects for companies like Grainger and MSC Industrial Direct.

[Liberty]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/23/ftc-allows-amazon-whole-foods-deal-to-proceed.html

[DTEJD1997]

Hey all:

 

The crushing of grocery stocks continues today...

 

I think that this is largely an overreaction.  How many shoppers at SVU are also shopping at WFM?  I am going to guess that is a VERY low number.

 

Here in the vast wastelands of the industrial midwest, there are very few WFM's.  I would put WFM's market share at well LESS than 1%.  In my family, friends, and associates, the frequency of shopping at WFM is 1 time per year or less.

 

How does WFM lowering the price of their "cracked pepper turkey breast" from $15.99/lbs. to $12.99/lbs. have any bearing or threat to more mainstream grocers?

 

WFM generally has very high quality, very good products, but the prices were just "silly" high.  So they go from "silly" high to simply high.  They will probably STILL be more expensive than KR, WMT, SVU...

 

OR am I totally off base?

[Jurgis]

We haven't shopped at Whole Foods for ages, but I think we gonna go there to check it out once they have Prime discounts.

 

Not that this gonna somehow crush our usual grocery shopping, so...  ::)

 

Disclaimer: I don't invest in grocery chains or much retail. We have tiny positions in AMZN and TJX.

[clutch]

Hey all:

 

The crushing of grocery stocks continues today...

 

I think that this is largely an overreaction.  How many shoppers at SVU are also shopping at WFM?  I am going to guess that is a VERY low number.

 

Here in the vast wastelands of the industrial midwest, there are very few WFM's.  I would put WFM's market share at well LESS than 1%.  In my family, friends, and associates, the frequency of shopping at WFM is 1 time per year or less.

 

How does WFM lowering the price of their "cracked pepper turkey breast" from $15.99/lbs. to $12.99/lbs. have any bearing or threat to more mainstream grocers?

 

WFM generally has very high quality, very good products, but the prices were just "silly" high.  So they go from "silly" high to simply high.  They will probably STILL be more expensive than KR, WMT, SVU...

 

OR am I totally off base?

 

The thing is, these groceries don't have much moat except prices... so IF WFM wanted to undermine other groceries by cutting prices, they can. And I think people are projecting based on Amazon's track record that that's what WFM will do.

[rkbabang]

Hey all:

 

The crushing of grocery stocks continues today...

 

I think that this is largely an overreaction.  How many shoppers at SVU are also shopping at WFM?  I am going to guess that is a VERY low number.

 

Here in the vast wastelands of the industrial midwest, there are very few WFM's.  I would put WFM's market share at well LESS than 1%.  In my family, friends, and associates, the frequency of shopping at WFM is 1 time per year or less.

 

How does WFM lowering the price of their "cracked pepper turkey breast" from $15.99/lbs. to $12.99/lbs. have any bearing or threat to more mainstream grocers?

 

WFM generally has very high quality, very good products, but the prices were just "silly" high.  So they go from "silly" high to simply high.  They will probably STILL be more expensive than KR, WMT, SVU...

 

OR am I totally off base?

 

The thing is, these groceries don't have much moat except prices... so IF WFM wanted to undermine other groceries by cutting prices, they can. And I think people are projecting based on Amazon's track record that that's what WFM will do.

 

Yes, but I still think DTEJD1997 has a good point, when he says that it doesn't matter if WFM sells its super special artisan turkey breast for $16 or $12 per lb when your local grocery store can sell regular stuff for $4.99/lb.  WFM sells a different product than your local grocery store does, to different people.  Yes, your local store probably has some organic foods, but the price conscience buyers will stick with the cheaper stuff.  Sure there are probably some people on the margins who will now shop at WFM, because of the price reduction, but unless Amazon turns WFM into something completely different than it is, I don't see it as a gigantic threat to most of these other companies.

 

[KCLarkin]

The thing is, these groceries don't have much moat except prices... so IF WFM wanted to undermine other groceries by cutting prices, they can. And I think people are projecting based on Amazon's track record that that's what WFM will do.

 

I don't see WFM playing this role. The Aldi/Lidl/Trader Joe's business models are much more threatening to traditional grocers.

 

[DCG]

The issue with WF is that their product selection doesn't come anywhere close to supermarkets, and that's not going to change.

 

Not sure if lower prices will draw more customers into Whole Foods, or just make it less expensive for their existing customers.

 

I don't have a Whole Foods close to me, by when I did, I typically just went there for their prepared food section and a few select items.

[Jurgis]

The issue with WF is that their product selection doesn't come anywhere close to supermarkets, and that's not going to change.

 

Not sure if lower prices will draw more customers into Whole Foods, or just make it less expensive for their existing customers.

 

I don't have a Whole Foods close to me, by when I did, I typically just went there for their prepared food section and a few select items.

 

Yes, that too.

 

For us, grocery stores have some moat:

1. Closest supermarket - geographical moat as long as they have reasonably wide selection and there's not a second one within <3-5 minutes drive. (That's currently the situation for me.)

2. Trader Joe's, Wegman's, Russian store, H-mart - specific item moat. "Can't get this stuff in local supermarket and/or the other stores in the list"

 

But moat-for-me is not moat-for-everyone. Other people have their own preferences and for them grocery chains might not have moats.  8)

 

Currently WFM does not even list in my grocery shopping.

[Liberty]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-28/amazon-cuts-prices-at-whole-foods-as-much-as-50-on-first-day

 

At the Whole Foods on 57th Street in Manhattan, organic fuji apples were marked down to $1.99 a pound from $3.49 a pound; organic avocados went to $1.99 each from $2.79; organic rotisserie chicken fell to $9.99 each from $13.99 and the price of some bananas was slashed to 49 cents per pound from 79 cents. The items marked down had orange signs reading “Whole Foods + Amazon.” The signs listed the old price, the new price and “More to come...”.

[DTEJD1997]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-28/amazon-cuts-prices-at-whole-foods-as-much-as-50-on-first-day

 

At the Whole Foods on 57th Street in Manhattan, organic fuji apples were marked down to $1.99 a pound from $3.49 a pound; organic avocados went to $1.99 each from $2.79; organic rotisserie chicken fell to $9.99 each from $13.99 and the price of some bananas was slashed to 49 cents per pound from 79 cents. The items marked down had orange signs reading “Whole Foods + Amazon.” The signs listed the old price, the new price and “More to come...”.

 

While those are prices in Manhattan, those prices are still substantially HIGHER than comparable stuff in the vast hinterlands.  Rotisserie chickens at Costco & Kroger & other is $4.99 or $5.99.

 

I will say again, I think the vast majority of shoppers at WFM & SVU (WMT & KR) are different demographic groups.

 

AMZN is running the risk of "debasing" the WFM brand or cachet.  I think there is a large contingent of people who WANT to pay more for their food...they get artisinal organic vegan cracked pepper turkey for $18/lbs. and they are fine with it.  It keeps the unwashed masses out of the store...

 

AMZN very well might lose that demographic that WFM makes their money from.  Of course, that is assuming that AMZN plans to make money from the WFM acquisition.

[fareastwarriors]

The hinterlands need to watch for the expanding and aggressive German discounters.