Amazon To Close Amazon 4-star, Books And Pop Up Stores

Amazon has confirmed it will be closing the doors to its 68 physical bookshops, Amazon 4-star branches, and pop up shops in the UK and USA.

It is unclear how many jobs will be lost as a result of the closures, but Amazon said it would support staff in finding new roles across the business. 

Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go, Amazon Style, and Whole Foods Market stores are unaffected by the planned closures, and customers will be notified of closing dates via signs at affected stores.  

Physical stores are understood to make up around 3% of Amazon's global revenue, the majority of which can be contributed to Whole Foods. 

Amazon's 4-star stores offer a curated range of products that are rated 4 stars and above, are top sellers, or are trending on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com, depending on location.  The product range includes consumer electronics, toys, games, books, kitchen, home, and more, alongside a full range of Amazon devices.

In October 2021, Amazon opened its first 4-star store in the UK - and outside of the US - in London's Bluewater shopping and leisure complex.

The following month, a second 4-star store opened in London's Westfield shopping centre.

An Amazon spokeswoman said: "We’ve decided to close our Amazon 4-star, Books and Pop Up stores, and focus more on our Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go and Amazon Style stores, and our ‘Just Walk Out’ technology,” 

“We remain committed to building great, long-term physical retail experiences and technologies, and we’re working closely with our affected employees to help them find new roles within Amazon.”

Source : Insight DIY Team

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