E-commerce giant Amazon plans to open physical stores in Germany. Similar stores are already in operation in the United States.
Ralf Kleber, VP Germany at Amazon.com told the Morgenpost: “Customers love diversity online and in the traditional retail industry. That industry still accounts for 90 to 95 percent of sales in Germany and we will never forget what the customer wants”.
The stores might also serve as a centralized delivery hub in urban areas, in a partnership with delivery services such as DHL or Hermes. However, the company has no intention of introducing a special fee for home instead of a free pick-up. Kleber said: “… we call ourselves the inventors of free shipping. Amazon Prime has been around for ten years now and our customers like it.”
Amazon has been experimented with physical shops in the United states. Bookstores, campus bookstores and automatized convenience stores have been opened. The acquiry, last summer, of the supermarket chain Whole Foods, for over 12 billion euros, is hinting to further development in this area.
