Amazon denies high-street store plans


8 Dec 2009

Rumours that online retailer Amazon.com was looking at bricks and mortar properties in the UK with a view to opening a high-street store have been quashed following an official statement by an Amazon spokesperson to the Associated Press saying that there were no such plans.

Following the publication of the story in the Sunday Times, the spokesperson said Amazon did not have plans to open physical shops in the UK or indeed anywhere around the globe.

However, this business model is not unusual for e-tailers looking to grow their business model. In September 2008, Norwegian online electronics store Komplett opened a pick-up point store in Blanchardstown, employing 15 people, where customers could pick up goods ordered online.

What store would offer

This rumoured high-street store version of Amazon – founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and originally only selling books – was also said to serve the purpose of being a pick-up point and display goods for browsers as catalogue retailer Argos does.

Amazon.com has gone from strength to strength, starting out selling books from its Seattle-based site in 1995 but rapidly expanding to other items including CDs, DVDs and software. With websites developed for specific markets including Canada, Germany and France, Amazon.co.uk is now the UK’s most popular music and movie retailer, according to UK research firm Verdict Research.

By Marie Boran

Photo: Contrary to rumour, Amazon will not open up shops in the UK.