Retailers using leasing power to stymie Amazon Whole Foods expansion

Across the United States, large retailers including Target, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc and Best Buy Co Inc have legal rights in many lease agreements that allow them to limit what Amazon can do with nearby Whole Foods stores, and where it can open new ones.

Documents reviewed by Reuters show bans on Amazon lockers and delivery operations near a Target store in Illinois and also in Florida, where a new Whole Foods is set to open. Lockers for retrieving online orders are a way for Amazon to spur sales through the grocery chain.

— Reuters Technology News http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-realestate/amazon-rivals-turn-to-legal-fine-print-to-stem-whole-foods-strategy-idUSKBN1CT0ES

This is an interesting development. I wonder if there’s some sort of AI blockchain solution to this? Ha! Of course not, this is actually how a real market works, with competitors and everything.