John Lewis Partnership has denied speculation that Amazon approached the group last year in a bid to takeover Waitrose.
According to reports over the weekend, a senior Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) executive had made contact with John Lewis (LON: JLH) over a potential deal but talks had been blocked by the board.
Since Amazon’s online delivery service, Amazon Fresh, was launched in the UK two years ago analysts have suggested the internet giant could be interested in buying up a UK supermarket chain.
John Lewis Partnership chairman, Sir Charlie Mayfield, denied any approach from Amazon. “These times are ripe for speculation but there has been no approach to the Partnership by Amazon regarding Waitrose and nor would I expect there to be,” he said.
Amazon said that it did not comment on speculation.
Amazon has been rumoured to make a grocery acquisition in the UK after its $13.7 billion (£10.12 billion) purchase of Whole Foods Markets in the US.
John Lewis has vehemently denied the approach from Amazon. Because the group is owned by its employees, a potential sale would have been very controversial.
Amazon’s growing strength as a retailer has been considered a threat to the market. The proposed £15 billion merger between Sainsbury’s (LON: SBRY) and Walmart-owned Asda (NYSE: WMT) is understood to be an attempt to create and new grocery superpower and fight off Amazon’s growing strength.
According to Terry Hunter, the managing director of digital commerce group Astound, the proposed Sainsbury-Asda merger “shows that the two chains feel they will be stronger together as they reposition themselves to combat the growing threat from the low-cost German supermarkets and Amazon.”
