Amazon-Whole Foods deal sees little market-share loss for Sprouts: analyst

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• Amazon acquired Whole Foods last year to cut the prices of organic groceries and reach a wider range of customers.
• But Sprouts Farmers Market has seen “very little share loss in markets where it overlaps with Whole Foods,” according to a team of UBS analysts including Mark Carden.
• “Most of Sprouts’s stores are located in middle income suburbs, while the majority of Whole Foods stores are in zip codes where customers aren’t as price conscious,” Carden said.
• Watch Sprouts Farmers Market trade in real-time here.

Amazon‘s acquisition of Whole Foods is not helping it grab market share from Sprouts Farmers Market, a competitor in the organic-foods space, according to UBS analysts.

Sprouts Farmers Market has seen “very little share loss in markets where it overlaps with Whole Foods,” a team of UBS analysts led by Mark Carden wrote in a Monday note sent out to clients after hosting a meeting with Sprouts executives.

“Much of this is likely due to store placement. Most of Sprouts Farmers Market‘s stores are located in middle income suburbs, while the majority of Whole Foods stores are in zip codes where customers aren’t as price conscious. Sprouts Farmers Market also benefits from its smaller box size, which presents a less overwhelming atmosphere for some shoppers.“

Last year, Amazon announced it was buying Whole Foods to lower the prices of natural and organic groceries and reach a wider range of customers.

“Everybody should be able to eat Whole Foods Market quality — we will lower prices without compromising Whole Foods Market’s long-held commitment to the highest standards,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, in a press release.