Seattle — Amazon, the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, is planning to open a chain of department stores to boost its sales in clothing, household items, electronics and other areas. The news comes from a Wall Street Journal report citing “people familiar with the matter.”
The first stores are expected to open in Ohio and California and, at around 30,000 square feet, will be smaller than a typical department store.
“It is unclear what brands Amazon will offer in the stores, although the company’s private-label goods are expected to feature prominently,” the Journal reports.
This is not Amazon’s first foray into brick-and-mortar retail, despite being perhaps the largest e-commerce disruptor of the sector. Amazon made big waves in 2017 by purchasing high-end grocery chain Whole Foods Market for nearly $14 billion. It has also, in recent years, experimented with concepts such as small-scale, checkout-free grocery stores.