Headlines

Amazon to Close All Bookstores and 4-Star Shops

November 13, 2015: Amazon opens its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle's University Village. Credit: SEASTOCK, iStock

Amazon (Seattle) will close all of its bookstores, 4-star shops and pop-up locations, a move that will shutter a total of 68 physical stores, Reuters reports.

The retailer said it will narrow its focus on Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go convenience stores and its upcoming fashion store, Amazon Style. The company did not disclose how many jobs will be cut.

Amazon, which originated as an online bookseller, opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in 2015. Along the way, it drove Borders and numerous independent book shops out of business.

Analyst Neil Saunders, Managing Director at Global Retail, told NPR the move comes as a surprise. He speculated the main problem with Amazon’s non-food stores is they lacked real purpose: “They were designed for people to pop in and browse rather than as destinations where people would head on a mission to buy something,” he said, noting the strategy was not conducive to driving foot traffic.

Read more at Reuters.

VMSD Staff

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