Amazon expects top open up to 400 physical bookstores, claims the CEO of a major American shopping operator.
In November the e-commerce giant tried on a physical fit-out rolled out a brick-and-mortar store in its home city, Seattle. An expansion of this format would be ironic as Amazon is often viewed as pushing booksellers out of business.
“You’ve got Amazon opening brick-and-mortar bookstores and their goal is to open, as I understand, 300 to 400 bookstores,” Sandeep Mathrani, Chief Exec of General Growth Properties, said in a conference call on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Mathrani compared Amazon’s plans to similar moves by eyeware company Warby Parker or men’s clothing retailer Bonobos, both of which opened physical stores after finding success online.
Amazon, which does not comment on “rumours or speculation” have neither confirmed nor denied these plans.
The etailer has reach echelons from humble beginnings as a bookseller 20 years ago but has since introduced the Kindle to the market.
Amazon has been hinting at the possibility of opening physical shops for years. In 2012, Jeff Bezos, chief executive and founder, said he “would love to open physical stores” if he could find “that idea” that is “uniquely Amazon”.
