The following is a special edition collaboration by all four partners at RSR:

By now, unless you’ve been having a long morning’s sleep, you know that Amazon.com is buying Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion.As we say in the old country “Such a deal! ”

Everyone knew that sooner or later Amazon had to go terrestrial in some way. It was just surprising (albeit somewhat sensible) to discover grocery is its first big foray.So, this begs the question: Where are the synergies? On the surface one has to ask how “Whole Paycheck ” and the low-priced on-line provider could possible fit together.The answer comes down to one word:Trust.

Both companies stake a lot of their businesses on trust. When a customer asks Alexa to order something for her, or when she pushes an Amazon Dash button, there’s trust that the price will be in the ballgame and that delivery will be prompt.

Whole Foods’ claim to trust was the notion that its products were as pure as you could get, and local when they could find it.But trust is a tenuous thing. One can easily track the recent decline in Whole Foods’ fortunes to an erosion of that trust. It started with what I call “Scalegate ” – the discovery in New York City that the company was consistently mislabeling the weights and overcharging customers for its prepared food.The co-CEOs apologized to customers and acknowledged mistakes, but in many ways, the company just never recovered from it.Sharp eyes starting discovering Whole Foods was charging more for easily recognizable items available at just about any other grocery, for no apparent reason.

This pricing policy wasn’t new. It was sticking out like a sore thumb to some for years.But somehow it seemed more egregious once customers realized that even that wasn’t enough.Sales declined.

One of Amazon.com’s first objectives will be to re-establish that trust, and find ways to leverage its Prime membership program in real and concrete ways.

This is a great deal for Amazon. It gets a ready-built distribution and sourcing network, hundreds of stores, and the opportunity to sell dry goods and staples online.We expect Prime Now to become the delivery vehicle for Whole Foods.

Amazon is not a foolish company. There’s no doubt corporate management realized it’s really hard to make money at grocery home delivery – at any price.Local stores are a good start.In fact, for anyone who’s been doubting the value of stores in the modern age (we’re looking at you, Retail Apocalypse shouters), this deal should put an end to that. People need stores. They like stores. They love shopping online, but there are things that online just can’t do – and likely never will. If Jeff Bezos gets that, you should, too. So find a way to make your stores relevant!

We expect Amazon to make additional forays into brick and mortar. No doubt their 35% apparel return rate is sticking in their craw. Return rates from store-bought apparel is at least three to four times less.Handling charges go down.Profits go up. So who knows?Maybe those people suggesting that Amazon might buy Macy’s aren’t completely whacky. I’ve given up guessing Amazon’s next move.

And speaking of that, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the elephant in the room: Amazon Go. Has Bezos and his team learned enough in their long-running beta store in Seattle to bring some, if not all, elements of a self-service grocery store to Whole Foods? We’re betting they have, and that you’ll see some of those features piloted at one of Whole Foods smaller format stores, likely in downtown Seattle or SoHo, perhaps. The most interesting question that will rise from that is this: if it fails (shrink is a very real thing in grocery), will that failure put an end to the hype around self-service?

We would also be remiss if we didn’t mention that Walmart did its own buy today – it bought Bonobos. This is an extension of its strategy to move into new markets, and is likely a good idea as well.Still, it is dwarfed by the entry of a new converged channel player – Amazon.

It’s a welcome relief to take a break from all that Retail Apocalypse nonsense. Retail remains a vibrant, vital and dynamic business.And smart retailers will always find a way to succeed. Always.

Just as we have for the past decade, we’ll all be watching the industry very carefully, and we promise to keep you posted!