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AMAZON EXPLORES
CONCRETE JUNGLE
By EVELYN NUSSENBAUM
Jeff Bezos may be leading Amazon.com offline.
The giant e-tailer has approached at least one
land-based store about a partnership, according to a
published report.
And some analysts think the idea makes perfect
sense.
Amazon.com is looking for an in-store presence, as
small as a kiosk, so customers can pick up and return
items - although it has been rebuffed so far, says
TheStreet.com.
Amazon.com refused comment. A spokesman said,
"As a policy, we do not confirm what we may or
may not do in the future, and do not comment on
rumor or speculation."
Whether the company sells online or off, the selling
Amazon.com may need to focus on now is in the
stock market.
Amazon.com fell 181/4 to 1073/16 yesterday, the
first chance investors had to react to the news of its
$138 million second-quarter loss.
Amazon.com has fallen nearly 50 percent since
mid-April, when it was trading at $210 a share.
"I think by next year, Amazon.com will have some
kind of store-based presence," said David
Cooperstein, an analyst at Forrester Research.
"Online sales will be just 6 percent of the economy
by 2003, so if they want to make money they're
going to have to sell in more places."
E-commerce watchers say Wal-Mart, B.J.'s
Wholesale Club, and Starbucks might be willing to
give Amazon.com some space.
Wal-Mart and BJ's refused to comment, and
Starbucks did not return calls.
Cooperstein and others say that Amazon.com would
benefit from some kind of retail space, because it is
starting to sell products that customers will want to
touch and try before buying.
The company is now selling sports gear and apparel,
items that are more commonly bought in stores.
And some analysts say Amazon.com is already
behaving a lot like a traditional store.
"They're a brick-and-mortar operation already," says
Rick Berry, an analyst at J.P. Turner and Company.
"They're buying up warehouses around the country."
If Amazon.com is indeed thinking of expanding
offline, it won't be the first Internet retailer to do so.
Laura Moore, a spokesperson for Tandy Corp., says
several e-tailers have called Tandy.
"We have had talks with folks who are interested in
using us for fulfillment," Moore said.
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