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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2017 (Revised May 2018)

  Amazon Buys Whole Foods

  José B. Alvarez, David Lane and Joni Coughlin

  The June 2017 news that e-commerce giant Amazon was paying $13.7 billion for organic supermarket chain Whole Foods precipitated a broad sell-off in the shares of grocery retailers and suppliers. Behind the precipitous declines lay recognition that Amazon’s bold move into brick and mortar assets offered transformational opportunities. Amazon could gain expertise in perishable product sales and procurement, plus access to 30 million well-off shoppers and 463 grocery stores in key U.S. markets. Whole Foods could absorb Amazon’s technology and process expertise to modernize and reduce its operating costs, which were among the highest in the industry. For grocery retailers and suppliers, the deal portended increased competitive pressures in a saturated market. As 2018 dawned, all parties were assessing the deal’s implications. Had the stock market overreacted to news of the deal? Why was Amazon buying Whole Foods? What were the long-term implications of the deal for the food value chain?

  Keywords: Amazon; Whole Foods; grocery; grocery delivery; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; e-commerce; business models; Agribusiness; food value chain; Agribusiness; Mergers and Acquisitions; Operations; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Alvarez, José B., David Lane, and Joni Coughlin. "Amazon Buys Whole Foods." Harvard Business School Case 518-056, December 2017. (Revised May 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2017 (Revised April 2018)

  Area One Farms

  Forest Reinhardt, Jose B. Alvarez and Annelena Lobb

  In 2017, Joelle Faulkner, CEO of Area One Farms, a Canadian private-equity fund focused on investing in the best Canadian farms and helping them expand, considered the merits and disadvantages of expanding her business to the U.S. While the markets shared some similarities, Faulkner did not know the U.S. market as well as the Canadian one. Could her joint venture partnership model work as well in the U.S. as it had in her home country?

  Keywords: Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Canada; United States;

  Citation:

  Reinhardt, Forest, Jose B. Alvarez, and Annelena Lobb. "Area One Farms." Harvard Business School Case 518-069, December 2017. (Revised April 2018.)  View Details

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• Background Note | HBS Case Collection | November 2016 (Revised March 2018)

  Note on the Impact of Millennials on the Food System

  José B. Alvarez, James Weber and Natalie Kindred

  In 2016, the millennial generation (those age 19 to 35 in 2016), the largest generation by population in the U.S., was entering its prime home buying, family forming, earning and spending years. This generation was showing different beliefs and behaviors than previous generations—beliefs and behaviors that were having a significant impact on the overall economy and in particular on the food industry. This note explores the millennial generation, how it differs from previous generations, and examples of how it is impacting the food industry.

  Keywords: Agribusiness; millennials; food; consumer packaged goods; Food; Age; Consumer Behavior; Agribusiness; Demographics; Values and Beliefs; Consumer Products Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Alvarez, José B., James Weber, and Natalie Kindred. "Note on the Impact of Millennials on the Food System." Harvard Business School Background Note 517-064, November 2016. (Revised March 2018.)  View Details

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