Investing.com - The grocery and specialty foods sector was experiencing a sell-off on Monday as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) became Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFM) official owner, and celebrated by slashing prices at Whole Foods stores.
Sprouts Farmers Market Inc's (NASDAQ:SFM), shares were leading the losses. The Amazon/Whole Foods merger is seen as a major threat to the organic grocer because it should result in lower priced organic foods. Before this merger, Whole Foods struggled for years to shed its “Whole Paycheck” image, but Whole Foods' challenges were positive for other organic grocers, who were able to fill a niche for more affordable organic and specialty food products.
It was expected that Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods would result in lower prices, heating up the competition in the sector, and on Monday as Amazon celebrated its official ownership of Whole Foods by reducing the prices for many products at Whole Foods stores, from organic avocados to kale.
Other big losers on Monday included Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC), while losses also spread throughout the food sector. Shares of Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST), Kellogg Company (NYSE:K), ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG)s and Treehouse Foods Inc (NYSE:THS) were also falling.
The combination was the main story on Amazon’s opening e-commerce page, and Whole Foods' 365 Everyday products were available for purchase through Amazon Prime and Fresh, Amazon's grocery and household goods delivery service.