Grocery Brand Closing Nationwide, Some Could Become Whole Foods Markets

Amazon said Tuesday it is closing its Fresh and cashierless Go stores nationwide, although Amazon Fresh will continue to exist as an online brand.

Stores are located in California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Tennessee.

“While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company said in a statement.

Some closed Fresh and Go stores will be converted to Whole Foods Markets, the company said. It plans to open 100 new stores over the next few years.

Amazon launched its grocery business two decades ago and acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion. The company said its grocery business accounts for more than $150 billion in gross sales annually.