October 01, 2019
Tech giant Amazon is planning to open a chain of grocery stores in the United States, and wants one of the first stores to be in Philadelphia.
The company, according to a report Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal, is moving forward with plans for locations in Philly, Chicago, and Los Angeles for an initial run of grocery stores. Exactly how the stores would differ from the company's current brick-and-mortar Amazon Go stores – of which there are 16 locations in Seattle, Chicago, and New York – isn't entirely clear, but there are some early ideas.
According to the Journal's newest report, the chain grocery stores will likely feature a wider array of products, compared to the Go stores' relatively pared-down options:
"Many of the proposed locations are outside urban cores and cater to middle-income consumers. Apart from prepared foods, they will stock mainstream groceries such as soda and Oreos, people familiar with the matter said."
That sure sounds like a grocery store!
Reports of Amazon's grocery store intentions began surfacing this past spring. The stores aren't meant to compete with Whole Foods, which is owned and operated by Amazon, according to the WSJ.
While the Los Angeles locations seem to be more in focus, with leases at specific locations mentioned in the Journal's story, there still isn't any hard information on where the Philadelphia location would be.
A spokesperson for Amazon declined to address the issue with the Wall Street Journal, saying the company doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.
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