In buying Whole Foods, Amazon wanted to get into the grocery business, but not with the goal of becoming a business courier, Smith said. "Groceries are heavy, hard to handle, people like to come and see the produce and so forth," he said. During the call, FedEx's chief marketing and communications officer, Rajesh Subramaniam, added: "More and more retailers are evolving their business model to compete with pure-play e-tailers, and we see this as an opportunity to provide even better value for our customers — whether it's fulfilling from store or a [distribution center]."