While most companies are transitioning into eCommerce, Amazon is doing the opposite. Known for being the largest internet-based company, Amazon now plans to open its first bricks-and-mortar site. Upon reading this, I’m left on the fence.

For starters, Amazon’s success is largely due to the fact that they provide such a wide variety of products. Even the most obscure item can be found. A retail Amazon store would have to carry a variety of products equal to its online counterpart for its brand image to remain unaltered. To do this, the company would tie up working capital in an unimaginable amount of inventory, in addition to expenses in leases and retailing. Opening a store would only seem to incur costs.

However, the current plan does not seems much better. The location is said to act as a mini warehouse, allowing customers to pick up products instead of waiting for items to be shipped. Although there are benefits, the high-traffic location -directly opposite the Empire State Building and within walking distance of Penn Station- argues that a retail store would be highly profitable despite the costs.

To me, it seems like a waste to merely open a warehouse in a location with so much potential. Nevertheless, only time will tell if Amazon’s experiment will be a success.

Image Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/amazon-to-open-first-store-1412879124

http://theopinionatedyouth.blogspot.ca/2013/07/new-york-is-exactly-like-movies.html