Amazon, Which Disrupted Retail Sector, Now Eyes Several Large Brick & Mortar Stores Across US: WSJ

Amazon.com Inc AMZN plans to open several large physical retail stores in the U.S. similar to department stores, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing sources. 

What Happened: The Jeff Bezos-founded online shopping giant aims to extend its reach and wants a larger retail presence to sell clothing and household items and facilitate exchanges. The expansion into physical stores will mark an expansion into a category that Amazon had once disrupted, the Journal noted.

Some of the first Amazon department stores are expected to be located in Ohio and California and could be around 30,000 square feet in size, much smaller than most department stores which usually occupy about 100,000 square feet.

The plans aren’t yet final and could change, as per the Journal.

It is unclear what brands Amazon will offer in the stores but the Seattle-headquartered e-commerce giant reportedlty approached a few U.S. apparel brands about two years ago with the idea of opening large-scale stores that would showcase their products.

See Also: Amazon Continues To Outpace Google, Facebook On Ad-Revenue Growth: What You Need To Know

Why It Matters: Founded in 1994 as an online bookseller, Amazon opened its first physical store in 2015, a bookstore in Seattle. It now operates more than 20 bookstores in the U.S. as well as more than two dozen Amazon 4-star stores, outlets that sell gadgets from electronics to kitchen products. The company also bought the grocer Whole Foods Market in 2017.

Executives at Amazon believe bricks-and-mortar stores would enable better engagement with customers and provide a showcase for its devices and other products to shoppers who otherwise might not have tried them.

The development could however see Amazon push into a category that has struggled for decades. Department stores were once big but have lost out to discounters, fast-fashion retailers and online players. 

Price Action: Amazon shares closed 0.42% lower at $3,187.75 on Thursday.

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