Online shopping giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is reportedly thinking about purchasing locations from the now-bankrupt Toys R Us, according to reports.
By acquiring the old stores, Amazon would be expanding its physical footprint from the largely internet-based presence it currently holds. This certainly seems to be the direction in which Amazon is heading currently given its $13.7 billion dollar purchase of organic grocery retailer Whole Foods, along with its 450 stores across North America, last August.
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Amazon has been touted as one of the primary causes for the demise of Toys R Us, which applied for bankruptcy in September last year after posting 5 years of decline. It follows a consumer preference shift to online retailers and the rise of electronic devices over toys. But the aggressively-expanding Amazon isn’t planning a take-over of the Toys R Us brand, so what exactly does it plan to do with the ‘brick-and-mortar’ locations it may purchase from them?
For one thing, the company may use the sites to sell and showcase its products such as the voice-controlled Alexa home assistant device, according to Bloomberg. In addition, Amazon may use the typically large ex-Toys R Us locations as storage warehouses for its delivery service, which would increase its network and shorten delivery times.
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It’s important to note that no deals have been closed as of yet, and Amazon may not go through with it at all. But it would certainly match a growing trend recently which has seen the company develop physical locations in addition to its online operations. For example, it already operates its Amazon Go convenience stores, which have made headlines because of their walk-in / walk-out payment system. Although the stores have been open to Amazon employees for a couple of years, only 2018 has seen them slowly expand to become open to the public, as well. In addition, the company operates its continually-expanding Amazon Books stores — an almost ironic return to basics from Amazon’s original online bookstore business model. The stores can currently be found in nine states including California and Washington, with more coming soon in Colorado and Maryland.
Stocks in Amazon are up 1.97% at the time of writing to $1575.38 USD.
Featured image: New York Post / Christopher Sadowski
