Whole Foods Market is planning to close two of its nine UK stores. The US-based retailer, recently bought by online giant Amazon, says it is looking at closing its Giffnock and Cheltenham stores, although a final decision will only be made after a 30-day consultation period is concluded.
The two stores – one in Scotland, the other in the south-west England – are geographical outliers, located far away from Whole Foods’ main London hub. That has made them expensive and cumbersome to service.
Industry commentators have pointed out that neither store could be serviced by Amazon’s online grocery service. “It makes perfect sense for Whole Foods to close both stores from a business standpoint, the logistics must be nonsensical,” commented Steve Dresser of Grocery Insight on Twitter.
Whole Foods’ plan to close Giffnock and Cheltenham will come as a blow to UK natural and organic brands. Earlier bold talk of Whole Foods spreading nationwide, and of other specialists – like Planet Organic – breaking out of London seems an increasingly unlikely prospect.
Whole Foods Market entered the UK retail market in 2004 with the acquisition of seven Fresh & Wild stores. It opened a 12,000sqm store flagship UK store in Kensington, London, in 2006.