Andrew Somple, left, senior vice president with NAI James E. Hanson, and Matthew Harding, right, president, Levin Management Corporation

EVESHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ—The busy Whole Foods store on Route 73 in this Burlington County suburb of Philadelphia continues to pack in shoppers, as observers try to parse out the meaning of Amazon.com's $17 billion purchase of the grocery chain. The store here is one of 17 stores statewide that are included in the big acquisition.

Developers who specialize in grocery-anchored retail development say food stores will need to reinvent themselves and continue to redesign their amenities to remain competitive.

“I think people in the supermarket, grocery, food business, have to take a big gulp,” says Andrew Somple, SIOR, a senior vice president with NAI James E. Hanson. “Amazon now has their targets on them. For a long time, Amazon had its targets on the consumer goods industry, now it's moved to produce.”

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Steve Lubetkin

Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].