Fast Five Shorts | Walmart To Allow Suppliers To Test New Products With Walmart Customers
In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Simbe, Ocampo Capital and Scratch Event DJs Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: Walmart Allowing Suppliers To Test New Products With Walmart Customers
For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/PmDEXwquuSE
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Transcript
Amazon this week announced that current Whole Foods CEO Jason Beechle will take the helm for its entire worldwide grocery business.
Speaker A:According to Grocery Dive, Beagle, who already oversees the vast majority of Amazon's grocery stores as the head of Whole Foods, will now be atop the Amazon Fresh traditional supermarket chain and Amazon Go fleet of convenience stores.
Speaker A:Doug Harrington, the CEO of worldwide Amazon stores, praised Beagle's experience running Whole Foods in the Monday announcement, saying, quote, in his time as CEO, Jason has unlocked our ability to make high quality, natural and organic groceries more affordable and accessible to customers, end quote.
Speaker A:And that Walmart, or, sorry, that Walmart, that Whole Foods has achieved, quote, record sales growth, end quote, under Beagle.
Speaker A: % since early: Speaker A:Wow, Chris, with all, with all that out of the way, do you think, Mr.
Speaker A:He just goes by Jason if you're friends with him.
Speaker A:But do you think that Beagle is the right person to head Amazon's grocery strategy?
Speaker B:Whoa.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:We're getting started off hot here again and man, I mean, I got to, I got to think about how I want to answer that question.
Speaker B:You know, I think Jason seems like a good dude, but, you know, I got to be true, true to the show and give my opinion here.
Speaker B:But there's a lot to unpack in this headline, which is why I think we started out with it.
Speaker B:And I think it all depends on what Amazon's goal is here with their grocery strategy.
Speaker B:You know, if it's, if it's retreat, which given the Amazon Go headlines, I kind of think that might be what it is.
Speaker B:It's just like throw the white flag and call it a day, then, sure, give him more responsibility.
Speaker B:Wind down Amazon Fresh and Amazon go make that part of his job.
Speaker B:And it feels like that's what they're doing to me.
Speaker B:But if it's grow the business, honestly, I'm a little, little skeptical.
Speaker B:And I think the dude, sharp, he's articulate, but I don't, I don't really know what he's done for Whole Foods.
Speaker B:I mean, the record sales growth claim kind of shocked me a little bit, you know, especially given that massive inflation we've had too, in the grocery industry.
Speaker B:So I'm a little bit like, okay, how much do I put into that claim?
Speaker B:You know, it sounds like something trying to do to, you know, you know, excitement the daily shop, which is like his like bread and butter strategy for Whole Foods is just getting off the ground.
Speaker B:I don't think we can say that that's successful yet and we have a lot of skepticism about how well that's going to work too.
Speaker B:And you know, I just go back to what I've said on the show a lot of times.
Speaker B: r off now than it Was back in: Speaker B:I don't think so.
Speaker B:I mean, I think Walmart is stronger with upper incomes.
Speaker B:Sprout is doing great.
Speaker B:Sprouts is doing great.
Speaker B:Like, so I just don't know if the track record's there yet to be like, this is the guy that's going to re enliven our Amazon, you know, grocery growth strategy.
Speaker B:It feels like, it feels like a promotion based on potential versus like actual experience and performance to me, quite honestly.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I think that you bring up a really important point which is where is the future for Amazon in the grocery space?
Speaker A:I think that's what we really have to focus on here and now.
Speaker A:This, this, this like placement of Beagle.
Speaker A:Now if, if it follows the way that it should go, I think there certainly could be some positives coming out of this.
Speaker A:Like, is he leading the strategy?
Speaker A:He does know the Whole Foods shopper.
Speaker A:He's been in the Whole Foods ecosystem for a very long time.
Speaker A:He knows what the Whole Foods customers are expecting.
Speaker A:I think it just depends on will he get to start making calls about the daily shop that you mentioned or the way the direction in which Amazon takes grocery.
Speaker A:And I don't know that that's possible.
Speaker A:Like, I think it's a good, it's a good thing to do.
Speaker A:I think Amazon is taking a hard look at what their grocery strategy should be and if he's put in this role and he's really in control of driving the strategy, there could be some changes.
Speaker A:My thought though, Chris, is that the more likely scenario is that we continue to kind of further see the degradation of Whole Foods as we know it.
Speaker A:I think we're going to start to see Pepsi in the aisles.
Speaker A:I think that, that Jason being in charge will be like, yeah, this isn't the Whole Foods that we know and love.
Speaker A:But I think Amazon will start pushing and be like, well, but we need the money from these CPGs, the concepts that we've been testing with the side by side or order ahead.
Speaker A:Like, I think that's where we start to see them going, which to your earlier point just puts them in closer competition with Walmart and some of the mass merchants out there who are doing organic foods, who are doing that at a lower price point that Whole Foods is never going to beat.
Speaker A:And then I think you.
Speaker A:You kind of.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You push away the Whole Foods customers to places like Sprouts, like you're talking about.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow, that's really interesting.
Speaker B:So you think they might go that direction?
Speaker B:That's like the third realm here, right?
Speaker B:Of, like, you know, where.
Speaker A:I hope not.
Speaker A:I hope not.
Speaker A:But, I mean, I think just based on what we know about Amazon, I.
Speaker A:I think that's probably the direction that they're about money, they're about making money and how they do that quickly.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I was, like, looking at the resume, too, Ann, you know, and his resume is.
Speaker B:I think it's like 13 years at Accenture, like over a decade at Accenture, which, you know, is mostly it.
Speaker B:Then came into Whole Foods as kind of an IT strategist guy.
Speaker B: ole Foods now, I think, since: Speaker B:So he's got a good grocery understanding.
Speaker B:But, you know, how much merchandising is in there, is my question.
Speaker B:But we got to hear him speak at retail spaces, and he did seem like he was very, you know, interested in understanding the merchandising aspect of the business.
Speaker B:So, yeah, God knows where this goes, but it's going to be fascinating to watch.
Speaker B:The other thing, an I can't say be without thinking of Beaker from.
Speaker B:From the Muppets, can you?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:That's just every time you say be, I'm like.
Speaker B:But anyway.
