Whole Foods Vs Fresh Direct: Which Is Better
Online grocery shopping has never been so popular. So, as someone whos worked in the grocery industry for 20+ years and takes grocery shopping very seriously, Ive decided to do some research on two popular grocery delivery services Whole Foods vs. Fresh Direct.
Heres the basic comparison:
Whole Foods vs. Fresh Direct. Fresh Direct partners with locals farmers and fishermen to ensure extremely fresh & local products. Whole Foods, however, has a much wider selection of produce. Also, Fresh Direct doesnt offer same-day deliveries and is more expensive than Whole Foods.
But thats not the whole story.
There are many more points of difference between Whole Foods and Fresh Direct. For instance, you must also know which of the two is expensive or has better delivery time and packages. Also, they vary in terms of the variety of produce, among other things.
Keep reading to find out how the two services differ!
Got our fresh direct delivery last night. Nice to have fresh veggies again.
What Is Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh is a grocery delivery and pickup service by the e-commerce giant Amazon headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Amazon works and coordinates with your favorite brands and local farmers to bring you the fresh fruits, veggies and groceries at your doorstep at a time thats right for you. Amazon Fresh is available as a free trial or to Prime members allowing them to order from a vast selection of over 5,000 fresh fruits and veggies, dry grocery products, dairy products, fresh meat, packaged foods, and more. Members can also get special offers and discounts on select categories so that you can save on items that youre looking for. Amazon Fresh is now available in almost all the major cities in the United States, Berlin, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Singapore, Munich, Milan, and India. Users can sign in to their Prime account or use the Fresh app to place their order and get the products hassle free.
Employee Benefits And Incentives
To help employees learn about products, the company has instituted a mentoring program and developed an online portal called “Whole Foods Market University” to aid in training. Internal parlance refers to “team leaders” as opposed to “managers” and stores sometimes offer prizes for competing teams. A 2014 analysis of 2012 figures found that Whole Foods Market was “among the least generous companies” in terms of its 401 savings program.
Whole Foods Market has an employee discount while all employees are provided a standard base discount rate of 20% on all store purchases, higher rates, up to 30%, can be earned based upon employee physical fitness health tests that are given yearly. These fitness exams are taken at the option of the employee.
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Creating Value: Amazon’s Acquisition Of Whole Foods
- 26 Jun 2017
On June 16, Amazon announced that they would be purchasing Whole Foods for $13.7 billion – approximately 27% higher than its current value in the market. After the initial shock wore off, many people began to speculate about whether this was a good decision or not.
In finance, we think about creating value as generating returns in excess of a firm’s cost of capital -in other words, for projects and decisions to generate more cash flow over time than they cost today to implement, discounted back to the present.
That’s a mouthful of a definition, but even the best projections can’t necessarily help us understand if our decisions were successful. This is one place where the stock market the crowdsourced opinions of thousands of analysts can be of assistance.
Imagine a market value balance sheet on the left side, the assets side, are the market value of the firm’s cash and their operating assets. On the right side, to balance, are the market value of the firm’s debt and the market value of their equity. Now imagine that the firm makes an investment – they use $1 million dollars in cash and make a $1 million investment in a new asset. Accounting will shift the balance from cash to operating assets and show no change. But did the value of the firm change?
We can think of the purchase of Whole Foods as an investment decision – took a certain amount of cash and purchased an asset. Was that a value creating or value destroying decision?
By Whole Foods Market
In June 2015, the company announced a millennial-focused, and more affordable version of its regular stores, called “365 By Whole Foods Market”. In addition to using digital price tags, in-store communication will largely be done through a smartphone app. In addition, the stores will have the goal of zero waste, donating all leftover food and using LED lights, as well as carbon dioxide-powered refrigeration cases. Jeff Turnas is president of the division.
To cut costs, customers unload bulkier products directly off a pallet. Some items, like produce, are priced per item instead of by weight. For items that are sold by weight, the customers weigh, barcode, and tag those items before they reach the check-out counter. Unlike the regular stores, the 365 stores offer a rewards program.
There were other future locations that would include five 365 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, and Florida.
In reviewing the new retail format, a reporter for The Motley Fool wrote that the new stores were “closer to a combination of a fruit stand, convenience store, and a restaurant than a traditional grocery store” while a reporter called them “hipster havens” due to their use of high tech as a cost-cutting and efficiency measure. Most reviews were very positive, although some customers said that they missed talking to actual people when placing food orders via tablets.
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Subsidiary Companies And Suppliers
Whole Foods Market is based on a system of decentralized buying. Each vendor is approved at the regional level for corporate standards such as being non-GMO and fair trade. Individual stores then decide which approved products to stock. They have a rolling ten-year distribution arrangement with UNFI.
Do Whole Foods Employees Get An Amazon Discount
No, Whole Foods employees do not get a discount on purchases they make on Amazon.com. And Amazon employees do not get a discount at Whole Foods stores.
Amazon indeed owns Whole Foods .
While it seems like a natural that Whole Foods Market employees would get their 20-30% employee discount at their new bosss website, Amazon, that is not likely going to happen.
For starters, most WFM employees probably already shop on Amazon, so by giving up 20% or more of those purchases, it could potentially cut significantly into Amazons profits.
If you know anything about Amazon whatsoever, you know that maintaining a healthy profit margin is one of the top goals. And if they did offer that benefit, there would be cutbacks elsewhere in the employee benefits package.
But, the companies do not have one singular, uniform policy. In the next section, Ill share some of the benefits Whole Foods employees are entitled to.
Wouldve paid 8.38 cents for a tube of toothpaste and a bottle of ranch without the employee discount welcome to Whole Foods everybody
Adrian
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Amazon Fresh Vs Whole Foods: Whats The Difference
Amazons acquisition of Whole Foods was the beginning of Amazons expansion in the grocery business. Since then, Amazon continued to expand its physical presence, especially with Amazon Fresh.
In this article, well cover the differences between Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods.
The main differences between Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods are the type of groceries they offer and the price points. Amazon Fresh offers a wide selection of national brands, private label, and store-made products at a low price, whereas Whole Foods offers organic products at a higher price point.
Well continue to explore the differences between Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods. Well also cover the exciting news about the first Amazon Fresh store and the innovation it offers to customers.
Just keep reading to find out more!
It’s Also Begun To Tackle The Challenge Of Fresh Food Delivery Again
Through Whole Foods stores, Amazon has renewed efforts to deliver fresh food a service that has been a struggle for it in the past. Unlike shampoo or paper towels, fresh food can spoil quickly. It is costly and complicated to deliver. It is expensive to store. Those challenges plagued its efforts with prior delivery service, Amazon Fresh.
Whole Foods’ stores provide a more cost-effective way to take care of fresh food, while also providing a launching pad to transport those groceries.
Shoppers are more likely to order and trust fresh food and meat from a retailer branded Whole Foods than they are from one named Amazon.
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Did I Cover All You Wanted To Know About Do Whole Foods Employees Get Amazon Prime
In the preceding paragraphs, I covered a lot of ground.
I shared what Amazon Prime entails, the benefits it offers, such as access to a huge collection of movies and T.V.episodes. This awesome entertainment feast covers many genres.
I shared the fact that Whole Foods Market employees do not have Amazon Prime as a part of their benefits.
I also shared some info about some of the benefits for Whole Foods Employees. Theres the main ones health, retirement, and vacation.
Note, however, that part-time employees those who work for less than 30 hours per week, do not get medical coverage.
But, the favorite benefit of employees is that they get 20% off. On the whole, the benefits offered by Whole Foods are not shabby at all. Theyre actually one of the best in the industry.
What Is The Minimum Online Order For Fresh Direct And Whole Foods
Fresh Directs minimum order is $30, and this does not include their delivery fee and tax.
According to their FAQ page, the minimum order for corporate deliveries is $50. In Manhattan, the delivery fee is $14.99 and $9.99 elsewhere.
Whole Foods gives you free delivery on orders $35 and over.
It isnt hard to spend $35, especially if you have a large family. Any orders less than that amount, the delivery fee is $4.99. Another perk of meeting the $35 threshold is express delivery within 1 hour of checkout.
This is perfect for those last-minute grocery needs. However, if your delivery address isnt eligible for this, then you will have to meet a $50 threshold to get free shipping.
In Hitman 3 its just the Whole Foods delivery guy coming to kill you, it seems.
Emily Joshu
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A Sign Of Things To Come
Even without delivering profits, Whole Foods could nonetheless deliver additional value in other ways.
Are we to see, for instance, some sort of scenario where Whole Foods customers might be required to log in with their accounts to access discounts in store? That would deliver megatons of new user data that Amazon could exploit in other areas of its business not to mention a potential surge in Amazon Prime membership signups. More simply, the stores also present useful channels through which Kindles, Fire TVs, Echoes and other Amazon hardware can be sold.
But lets think about those stores for a moment.
Amazon has just acquired overnight a national physical presence, and a network of mini-distribution centers for fresh produce to boot. And if Amazon decides to use groceries as a means to increase the frequency of home deliveries, its not hard to imagine what other types of products it could pile into home delivery vehicles . The last-mile logistics obstacle for fresh food deliveries may just have taken a giant leap towards being solved.
But heres the real worry for the retail sector at large.
If Amazon can acquire its way into groceries with all the tech and budget in the world to reinvent the sector as it sees fit whats to stop it from muscling into drug stores, electronics stores, department stores, appliance stores, or anywhere else?
Whats needed is a combination of both.
It’s Going From Regional To National
One of Whole Foods’ biggest challenges has been taking what set it apart lots of niche and often regional products and streamlining that into becoming a cost-efficient, national retailer. Many small brands point to Whole Foods as the birth ground for their new products. For Whole Foods though, devoting shelf space to small brands, especially those that aren’t driving traffic, was not always good for the bottom line. Dealing with each brand on a regional basis could prove complex.
Whole Foods has been trying to solve that challenge since before its sale to Amazon, hiring Target’s Don Clark in 2015 to help with the efforts. The grocer’s sale to Amazon though came with its own set of uncertainties, which resulted in those moves being viewed with a different level of scrutiny and tension.
It has begun to centralize purchasing for its suppliers. That means many small brands need to go through WFM headquarters in Austin, Texas, to get placed in a store, not through their regional Whole Foods representative. That approach simplifies operations and makes it easier for a brand to scale without traveling region by region. The drawback is small brands with little plans to grow at such a scale might feel squeezed out.
Whole Foods has also begun to centralize its merchandising, which means it’s now taking care of in-store displays and setup rather than allowing brands to outsource the task to third-party services.
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Amazon Diversity & Inclusiveness Transparency
As part of our effort to improve the awareness of the importance of diversity in companies, we have highlighted the transparency of Amazons commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and social responsibility. The below chart illustrates how Amazon reports the diversity of its management and workforce. This shows if discloses data about the diversity of its board of directors, C-Suite, general management, and employees overall across a variety of markers. We have indicated that transparency with a .
| Amazon Diversity & Inclusiveness Reporting |
|---|
As A Whole Foods Employee You Might Be Interested In Knowing Whats A Grocery Team Member
As I mentioned earlier, I worked at Whole Foods for over twenty years and started in Grocery. I worked my way up to Grocery Team Leader before moving into store leadership.
And, thats exactly what I did in a recent article of mine.
I explained what a Grocery Team Member is, how grocery stores are laid out, how much they are paid. I shared how much they get paid, and the skills required, and if they are required to work overnight. Just click the link to read it on my site.
Next, well look at another interesting and reasonable question. Would you get discounts when you shop on Amazon?
When your buddy tells you he has an employee discount at the local Whole Foods#FavoriteBeers#summershandy#bee
Scarlet Richardson
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What Is The Best Grocery Delivery Service
Amazon Fresh is considered the best grocery delivery service. Heres why.
All that is required to use Amazon Fresh is an Amazon Prime Membership. You get free delivery as long as the order is $35 or more. The $119 fee a year is less than Fresh Directs $129, plus you get added benefits.
The selection is vast compared to other services, and the customer service is exceptional.
Instacart is another popular grocery delivery service with great convenience. Your shopper can deliver your order to your hotel room for hotels that allow it.
With Instacart, you can constantly communicate with your shopper and get your items from your favorite stores.
There are downsides, though. Your order might not be delivered on time, and items cannot be stored at the correct temperatures for long. Youll also have to worry about price markups from different stores.
It can be frustrating to find out that your order of $60 went up to $115 at checkout.
Let me save you the trouble of figuring it out on your own. Heres my recent article on why Instacart charges more than the store.
I cover everything on which stores use markups and the ones that dont. I also go in detail on how to use Instacart Pickup. Click that link to get the scoop!
Do Whole Foods Employees Get Amazon Prime
Whole Foods Market is one of the great places to work and has many benefits for its employees. We know Whole Foods got bought by Amazon, so do Whole Foods employees get Amazon Prime?
I did some research, and here is what I discovered:
No. Whole Foods employees do not get Amazon Prime. However, they get many other benefits. For example, Whole Foods employees enjoy a special employee discount on purchases, up to 30%. Full-time employees also get health insurance, paid time off, and a 401k plan.
But you might also be interested to know the other kind of benefits the Whole Foods employees enjoy.
Also, do part-time, and full-time employees get equal access to these employment benefits? I will help you know it all.
Employee benefits are one of the areas I am highly qualified to write about because, for over twenty years, I was a general manager at Whole Foods Market, although I left the company shortly before Amazon bought them.
You could say that I know a thing or two about them, and youll be right. Truth be told, we cant exhaust all that we could learn about them. But Ill make sure I cover most of what youll like to know.
Lets get started by considering an interesting question.
Starting in October, at #TheBoroTysons will be doing grocery delivery through Amazon Prime! Stay tuned for more information!
The Boro
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