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According to Bloomberg Amazon is in talks to buy some of RadioShack's stores:
Amazon has considered using the RadioShack stores as showcases for the Seattle-based company’s hardware, as well as potential pickup and drop-off centers for online customers, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private.
RadioShack is on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, and according to other reports, it has also been in talks with wireless carrier Sprint about selling some of its stores. The deal with Amazon may not happen, but nonetheless, it shows where Amazon is headed.
To head off competition from Wal-Mart—one of the few retailers that could pose a legitimate threat to Amazon—and to expand its operation, the company has adopted a new hybrid business model, combining e-commerce with offline services.
Originally spotted at Wired, and also linked at HackerNews.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Wednesday February 04 2015, @04:57PM
Whoa, Amazon is probably offering pennies on the dollar if they're trying to snap up real estate space on the cheap like they do everything else on the cheap. Let's wait and see if Radio Shack is willing to sell at the prices Amazon is looking for.
What I see going on is Amazon becoming Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart becoming Amazon. The two will be virtually the same thing, a logistics company with some in-city real estate and a huge warehouse and distribution chain. They've completely cornered the low end of retailing zero-margin commodities.
Interesting to watch Radio Shack, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Sears, K-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, B Daltons, Waldenbooks, Books-A-Million, and a bazillion other retail stores either disappear or be on life support for years.
I've also noticed consumer brands disappearing. Right now, there's usually one or two name brands and one store brand of every commodity. Because brands are disappearing, retailers can't differentiate themselves or offer any advantage over any other retailer. Whoever has the best logistics is winning, because they are able to distribute zero-margin commodities more efficiently.
The old-line retailers are struggling because they literally (and I mean literally - in the literal sense of the word - if any pedants are reading this) can't answer the question: "What sets us apart from our competition?" Why should anyone shop at, say, Sears, or JC Penny, or Books-A-Million, or any of the other second-rate retailers? They can't distinguish themselves in any way. These are the retailers who are failing. As this question of any retailer, and if you can't answer it, they're either gone, going, or will be gone soon.
We can't forget that this has always happened. Small regional department stores (Kings, Roses, and others) disappeared in the 1990s, for example. It just seems worse because so many commodity-selling retailers seem to have all come to the end at once.
Anyhow, I always ask myself - what is growing and expanding and creating jobs? I look for those sectors. I am at a loss to find any sector really expanding now, other than healthcare. Help me figure out where future jobs will come from. We can't all sell extended warranties to each other.
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by opinionated_science on Wednesday February 04 2015, @06:56PM
alternatively, since Amazon allows you to sell your stuff, and Walmart doesn't (yet), it could be we are witnessing the next phase of industrial revolution for logistics.
The lockboxes and combined with UPS/Fedex is already pretty optimal. Add some robots in there, and if you are a small producer of something unique, you will be able to scale massively for almost no cost.
Or am I perhaps too optimistic in how I think this will turn out?