Amazon will 'probably' open more bookstores
RANCHOS PALOS VERDES, California -- Like the forester planting trees in a decimated timberland, Amazon is now seriously considering expanding its brick and mortar bookstore experiment.
During a lengthy chat with The Verge's Walt Mossberg at the annual Code Conference on Tuesday night, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos explained that in addition to the bookstore they opened in Seattle, Washington, last year and the one they have announced for San Diego, the company "will probably open some more."
The irony of this decision is not lost on Bezos, who joked that some had suggested they call the shops "Amazon Irony Books."
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The physical store plan is far from solid. Bezos said Amazon is still learning and is constantly experimenting so they can figure out what an Amazon Bookstore should actually do -- besides sell books, of course.
Currently, Amazon is trying to assess the right format, store size, retail approach and even how such a shop would interact with an existing Prime Membership.
While this news may surprise some, Bezos has actually made a habit of entering markets that didn't obviously fit with Amazon's online retail business. To wit, Bezos' acquisition of the newspaper, The Washington Post. In general, Bezos said of Amazon interests in non-endemic markets and businesses, "We never think of ourselves as tied to any particular technology or skill set."
The potential creation of more physical Amazon stores, though, is one of the more interesting turn of events in the 21-year history of the online mega-retailer, especially considering most people credit (or blame) Amazon for the decline of the local bookshop.
Still, Amazon's retail plan may dovetail nicely with Bezos' goal of aggressively trying to supplement the last mile of product delivery. A legion of physical stores supplied with books and other Amazon products could serve as a pickup spot for people who want their Amazon products NOW.
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Topics Amazon
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
