In the face of a trend that has seen the decline of bricks-and-mortar retail space, online giant Amazon has announced plans for the opening of a series of department store-like facilities across the country.
According to sources, the stores are expected to measure around 30,000 square feet, with the first spaces set for locations in both Ohio and California.
Although Amazon already has smaller store outlets, the new department store concept will be larger than any of those spaces and will have, according to the Wall Street Journal, a footprint “similar to scaled-down formats that Bloomingdale’s Inc., Nordstrom Inc., and other department store chains have begun opening.”
The move comes as Amazon has emerged as the largest seller of clothing in the country, representing around 12% of the total U.S. clothing market, and generating 2020 sales in the neighborhood of $41 billion.
Where exactly the new Amazon stores will be located, and whether they will be in newly-built structures or in repurposed existing department store space, has yet to be disclosed by the company.
Some analysts have suggested that because the new Amazon stores will be 30,000 square feet or perhaps less, far smaller than a typical 100,000 square foot department store, they will most likely be opened in shopping malls.
Although competition from Amazon is often cited as one of the reasons why many existing clothes chains in recent years have closed, the company itself has embraced physical retail space previously with its bookstores and the $13.7 billion acquisition of the grocery chain Whole Foods in 2017.
By Garry Boulard
