Amazon Plans to Shut U.K. Grocery Stores — Update

By Aimee Look

Amazon.com aims to close all its bricks-and-mortar Amazon Fresh U.K. stores just four years after opening its first in the country, as the company leans into online delivery and its Whole Foods Market brand.

The e-commerce giant said Tuesday that it launched a consultation with employees about potentially shutting 14 Amazon Fresh stores and converting five others into Whole Foods Market locations. It aims to offer employees affected by the closures alternative positions within the company.

The possible closures come less than five years after Amazon launched the store brand which operates with technology instead of cashiers, and four years after opening its inaugural shop in the U.K.

In addition, Amazon said it would also roll out same-day delivery for perishable groceries in the U.K., after doing the same through a sweeping expansion of its grocery-delivery business in the U.S. In August, Amazon said it was aiming to deliver to 2,300 cities in the U.S. by the end of 2025.

The online retail and tech behemoth bought the Whole Foods Market brand in 2017 for $13.7 billion, and it has quickly become a crown jewel for its grocery ambitions.

In May, the company's Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the brand was growing significantly faster than the rest of the grocery industry with strong profitability.

"I'm very bullish about grocery. I think some folks don't realize how large a grocery business Amazon has today," Jassy said at the time.

Online delivery has remained a bright spot as other areas of the business have slowed recently. Amazon's lucrative cloud-computing business reported sluggish growth in July earnings, falling behind some rivals.

In the U.K., Amazon said there is high customer demand for its online grocery selection. The company said it plans to at least double the number of Prime subscribers who can access over three delivery options through its partnerships with U.K. store brands Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and Gopuff.

In June, the company said it is investing 40 billion pounds ($54.1 billion) in fulfilment centers and delivery stations in the U.K. The investment would bolster its network of operations, and create thousands of full time jobs, in addition to the 75,000 employees currently at the company in the U.K., Amazon said.

Write to Aimee Look at aimee.look@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2025 11:35 ET (15:35 GMT)