How 'love at first sight' sealed Amazon's Whole Foods deal

Remark sheds new light on a deal that was presented with a relatively terse statement on Friday

Whole Foods Market Chief Executive Officer John Mackey, who agreed to sell the company to Amazon.com last week, said he was first set up with the e-commerce giant on a “blind date” about six weeks ago and fell in love after conversing for hours.

The deal was set in motion when Mackey and fellow executives Jason Buechel, Ken Meyer and David Lannon flew up to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, according to a transcript of a town-hall meeting held on Friday with employees. Mackey was assured that Whole Foods’ quality standards wouldn’t be compromised, he said.

Whole Foods’ 63-year-old CEO, who has