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Analyst: Whole Foods Price Cuts 'More Bark Than Bite'

An analyst is warning that Monday's price cuts by Amazon at Whole Foods Market locations are "more bark than bite," according to a note published Tuesday.

The Whole Foods Market in Danbury

The Whole Foods Market in Danbury

Photo Credit: File

Gordon Haskett Research Advisors analyst Charles Grom said in the note that the cuts look deep on the surface but in reality, reveal only modest reductions.

The average price of more than 100 products Grom tracked from last week declined by 1.2 percent as of Monday, but 78 percent of those products did not see any discounts, according to Tuesday's note.

Related story: Amazon Cuts Some Prices By 43% At Whole Foods In Fairfield County

Products with the greatest discounts came from the dairy and yogurt section (5.6 percent), according to Grom's note.

Those statistics come from a single store in Princeton, N.J., and Grom says the results indicate the market's initial reaction to Amazon's announcement may have been excessive.

"We will continue to monitor the situation going forward, but our initial checks suggest that Amazon's bark may be greater than its bite," the note said.

In its announcement Monday, Whole Foods said it will begin offering lower prices on best-selling organic staples in its stores. Items that will be cheaper include whole trade bananas, avocados, large brown eggs, responsibly farmed salmon and tilapia, baby kale and baby lettuce, ground beaf, almond butter, Gala and Fuji apples, rotisserie chicken, and more.

The discounts came as a result of Amazon completed its acquisition of Whole Foods Market. 

There are five Whole Foods locations in Fairfield County: Danbury, Darien, Westport, Greenwich and Fairfield. Other Connecticut locations include West Hartford, Glastonbury and Milford.

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