Amazon has filled the void created by the departure of Tony Hoggett as the head of the company’s global omnichannel grocery operations late last year. Hoggett’s replacement comes from within the company – Jason Buechel, CEO of Whole Foods Market (WFM), now becomes an Amazon VP and will expand his current duties to include Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores (WWGS) which include Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go and its Grocery Partnerships e-commerce platform that provides same-day delivery services from other non-Amazon owned retailers (Mid-Atlantic partners include Weis Markets and Rite Aid).
The announcement was made by CEO of the Seattle-based firm’s Worldwide Amazon Stores Doug Herrington, who will serve as Buechel’s boss.
Buechel has been with Whole Foods since 2013. Prior to him being named chief executive at WFM in 2022 (replacing the company’s founder John Mackey), he was COO, providing operational leadership over all Whole Foods physical stores and overseeing the company’s technology, supply chain and distribution, store real estate and design, and HR functions.
In a company email, Herrington said: “In his time as CEO, Jason has unlocked our ability to make high-quality natural and organic groceries more affordable and accessible to customers, helping WFM achieve record sales growth and expand to over 535 locations. Since creating a single WWGS organization in 2022, Amazon has also made progress in its vision to make grocery shopping simpler, faster and more affordable for customers. We’ve taken steps to integrate our huge grocery selection across our broader logistics network and create a more seamless experience for customers, especially Prime members. This work will continue under Jason’s leadership. I am incredibly energized by our momentum in grocery. Our new Grocery Subscription is getting fantastic response from customers. We continue to be focused on great selection and value at Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go. We’re getting great feedback on our new and redesigned Amazon Fresh stores. We’re also excited by new experiments, like in Phoenix, where customers can shop tens of thousands of grocery items — including fresh groceries – alongside millions of Amazon.com products, and have them delivered, together, in hours.”
Buechel commented about his promotion in a LinkedIn post in which he stated: “I’m truly humbled by the opportunity to serve as the new leader of Worldwide Grocery Stores at Amazon. This expanded responsibility gives me an opportunity to look after the collective grocery offering across Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go and Grocery Partnerships—and help move forward our goal of making grocery shopping simpler, faster, and more affordable for customers.
I’ve never been more excited about the work Amazon is doing to improve the grocery shopping experience for customers and can’t wait to dig in further. Having a team of amazing leaders like Claire and Anand will only help propel this effort. I’m grateful for their partnership and everything they do for our teams and customers. Customers are increasingly turning to Amazon for their grocery and everyday essential needs because of our unmatched selection, great prices, and convenient shopping options—be it fast delivery, easy pickup, or enjoyable in-store shopping. We still have more work in front of us, but I’m energized by our progress to date and excited about the continued invention that’s ahead.”
Claire Peters will continue in her role as VP-WWGS working with Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go and Grocery Partnerships, and Anand Varadarajan will continue to lead all product and technology for WWGS. Both will report to Buechel moving forward.
Buechel’s portfolio will now include approximately 535 Whole Foods in the U.S. Canada and the UK; 62 Amazon Fresh small format supermarkets in the U.S.; and 16 Amazon Go urban convenience stores in NY, CA, IL and WA.
