Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) on Monday said it would expand its
grocery delivery and pick-up options in more than a dozen
cities--the specialty-food retailer's latest move to contend with
competitors such as Kroger Co. (KR) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN).
The Austin, Texas, company said it is partnering with Instacart,
a website and mobile app where customers can order groceries and
have them delivered within an hour, to offer grocery services in 15
cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
Whole Foods and Instacart will also launch a pilot program in
Boston and Austin this month to allow customers to pick up
groceries ordered through Instacart in their local store.
The move comes as Whole Foods is dealing with intensifying
competition from new specialty stores such as Sprouts Farmers
Market Inc. (SFM), as well as grocery giants such as Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. (WMT) and Kroger, who are encroaching on the
specialty-foods business that Whole Foods once dominated. Amazon,
meanwhile, has been pushing higher-end foods in its grocery
delivery service in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Despite moves to spur growth through price cuts, Whole Foods
lowered its annual sales projection in July for the fourth time in
nine months after posting a 3.9% increase in same-store sales, its
slowest pace in more than four years.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
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