news/AMZN/2023.02.13/Amazon CEO doubles down on grocery store business - FT.txt

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc Chief
Executive Andy Jassy has vowed to double down on the ecommerce
giant's struggling grocery store business, the Financial Times
reported on Monday.Jassy blamed a lack of normalcy during the pandemic for a
series of stumbles and said the company was ready to "go big" on
bricks-and-mortar stores, the report added.Amazon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.The company has paused expansion of its Fresh supermarkets
and cashier-less convenience stores until it finds the right
recipe for success, Jassy said, in a rare appearance on the
company's quarterly results call earlier this month.Jassy's remarks show how Amazon, which just a year ago
said it would close its bookstores to focus on grocery, has yet
to dominate brick-and-mortar retail since its closely watched
acquisition of Whole Foods Market in 2017.For the time being, the company has closed some grocery
shops and impaired certain assets. It took a $720 million charge
from such actions in the fourth quarter, its chief financial
officer said earlier this month.
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli and Shailesh Kuber)