Reuters
Exclusive-Amazon to close all of its physical bookstores and ‘4-star’ shops
(Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday told Reuters it plans to close all 68 of its physical book stores, pop up shops and “4-star” stores in the United States and United Kingdom, ending some of its longest-running experiments in physical retail. The news marks a turning point for a company that started out as an online bookseller, disrupting brick-and-mortar incumbents such as Borders and Barnes & Noble, only to open its own physical shops decades later. Amazon said physical retail remains an important way for it to reach shoppers and said it will continue to work on other concepts, such as its recently announced fashion store in greater Los Angeles and cashierless grocery stores.
