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Amazon has denied reports that it plans to open over 2,000 grocery stores under its brand name. The company also denied reports that it envisages inauguration a 30,000 to 40,000 sw. ft. physical stores resembling a discount grocery chain on the lines of Aldi.
This is utterly untrue, as the company has no plans to open 2,000 brick-and-mortar grocery stores. "We are not even close to anything like that. We are still learning," CNET quoted an email statement sent to the publication by Amazon spokeswoman Pia Arthur. She also said that Amazon also does not have plans to open any chain like Aldi.
There have been several rumors that Amazon plans to introduce hundreds or maybe thousands of retail stores across the globe. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is working to launch "more than 2,000 brick-and-mortar grocery stores under its name." The report, however, added that the company would open only 20 such stores during the next two years.
Amazon's denial that it has any such plans may have disheartened many consumers who were thrilled at the idea of convenient shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. Even mall and store operators hoped that the e-commerce giant would open physical retail stores with novel concepts, thereby breathing new life into the industry.
At the same time, the rebuttal has also come as a big relief to thousands of grocery workers across the United States. They were apprehensive that the online retail giant's plans to launch automated stores dubbed Amazon Go would render them jobless. In fact, rumors were afloat suggesting that Amazon was looking forward to launch around 400 brick-and-mortar bookstores.
Interestingly, during the company's shareholder meeting in May, CEO Jeff Bezos too did not say anything specific to set the record straight by denying such rumors. Amazon definitely plans to open more stores, but the exact number is not yet known, the technology news site quoted Bezos as saying.
Meanwhile, Amazon launched its physical store concept this week with the opening of a retail outlet in Seattle. While the size of the new store is similar to a convenience store, it is completely free of lines and there is no need for checkout. The Amazon store in Seattle uses cameras, sensors, and other tracking gadgets to identify the items picked up by the shoppers and will charge them to the person's Amazon account automatically when they leave.
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