By Laura McGuire
TheAmazon-owned UK division of Whole Foods has seen a rapid decline in earnings for the year as soaring inflation makes Brits hesitant to fork out on its pricey goods.
Whole Foods UK reported operating losses of £26.9m up from £17.2m the prior year and its sales also fell to £91.6m down from £94.3m.
Amazon took up its first major forage into the grocery market when it bought Whole Foods in for $13.7bn (£10.7bn). In the UK it trades from seven sites solely across London.
As the capital grapples with soaring supermarket prices, it appears London’s health conscious have struggled to justify spending on its naturally-sourced goods. Whole Foods charges £3.99 for eggs and its Seggiano Organic Fusilli Pasta costs £5.
Its failing profits also bruise Amazon, which is still trying to carve out a top spot in the grocery market.
Last year, it halted the roll out of its cash-free Amazon Go sites. It had originally planned to launch hundreds of the sites across the UK but it abandoned the project after opening 20 stores due to poor sales performance.
Amazon, which revolutionised online shopping, has struggled to mirror the success of its online website with its physical stores.
Amazon also closed all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores in the UK and US in March last year.
However bosses at Amazon still appear to be keen to hold space in the grocery sector – with it rumoured to be eyeing a takeover of Ocado’s technology business.
The robotics and supermarket business has struggled in recent years as shoppers drifted away from online grocery shopping following the end of social-distancing laws post pandemic.
