Department store operator Kohl’s (NYSE:$KSS) experienced a big increase in its stock price after announcing Tuesday that the company would be partnering with Amazon (NASDAQ:$AMZN) to accept returns on select Amazon products. Stock surged up 4.5%. This service will be available in 82 stores located in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Kohl’s will re-package and ship the returned products to one of Amazon’s distribution centers starting in October.
The partnership is not without precedent. Earlier this month, Kohl’s decided to sell Amazon devices such as the Echo Speaker at 10 of its stores in Chicago. Amazon, for its part, has recently made a move into the retail sector with its purchase of all 456 Whole Foods (NASDAQ:$WFM) stores across the country.
Despite Amazon’s effect on brick-and-mortar since the rise of e-commerce, Kohl’s is not the only retailer to partner with the online giant. Sears (NASDAQ:$SHLD) announced they would partner with the retailer before the 2017 holiday season to further assuage the hit they take from their online competition.
Companies may be enlisting in the practice of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” with regards to Amazon, as the retailer is stealing business from birck-and-mortar companies left right and center.
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