Amazon Reportedly Considering Move Into Department Stores The first stores are expected to be in California and Ohio and will take up about 30,000 square feet.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Amazon is planning to open department stores as the company's latest venture into brick-and-mortar retail, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Per the Journal, the first stores are expected to be in California and Ohio and will take up about 30,000 square feet. Amazon recently overtook Walmart as the largest retail seller outside of China and has a history of crushing competition.
Small and local businesses, in particular, have found it hard to compete Against Amazon, to say nothing of the effect its success has had on larger chains.
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As CNBC reported Thursday, the reports of Amazon's impending entry into the department store arena impacted stocks of big-box rivals: Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Best Buy all saw their shares fall about 1.5% in premarket trading. Walmart's shares went down about 1%.
This will not be the company's first venture into physical locations. Amazon has opened book stores, grocery stores and convenience stores in recent years in addition to purchasing Whole Foods Market.
The Whole Foods acquisition disrupted food marketing and other store locations focused on books and snacks, but this new move is poised to add clothing and tech products to the list of items available from Amazon in person.
