Online retailer Amazon set to open a physical store - WSJ

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O, the online juggernaut whose rapid expansion helped derail many a brick-and-mortar retail chain, may soon open its first physical store, at a prime site in Midtown Manhattan, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon plans to open its first full-fledged store across from the Empire State Building, at 7 West 34th Street, the Journal reported. The area, which is also near Macy's flagship store, is one of the city's most heavily trafficked zones.

The site will double as a mini-warehouse to support same-day delivery, returns and order pickups within New York, the Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/1oUY1Hy)

The store, which is expected to open in time for the holiday shopping season, may also display Amazon's proprietary products, such as its Kindle line of e-readers and tablets, Fire smartphones and video-streaming boxes. If the store takes off, Amazon may expand to other cities, the Journal reported.

Amazon declined to comment on the Journal's report.

A store would mark a significant move for an online retailer that has capitalized on its Internet business model and the cost-savings of doing away with a vast physical network.

In recent years however, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has led a number of initiatives that have mandated a physical presence in cities: lockers that temporarily hold customer purchases, for example, and a rapid expansion of grocery and same-day delivery that has often meant maintaining some sort of local distribution centre.

The company has also on occasion set up pop-up stores in malls, though those have been rare.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bangalore and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Maju Samuel and Leslie Adler)