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| Amazon's Seattle bookstore | |
Amazon has confirmed plans to open a ninth bookstore, in Walnut Creek, Calif., in the Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Amazon has opened Amazon Books locations in Seattle, San Diego and near Portland, Ore. It has announced branches in Chicago, New York City, Paramus, N.J., and two near Boston.
The Walnut Creek store will be at Broadway Plaza, an open-air shopping center. The only indie in the town of 64,000 is used/collectible/rare bookseller Swan's Fine Books, whose owner, Laurelle Swan, told the newspaper she wasn't surprised by the announcement because "there is definitely a need in Walnut Creek for a place to buy new books.... I was sorry that an independent bookstore had not opened to fill that need, but running an independent shop is very difficult in an area with high rents--which is why my shop is off the beaten track, around the side of our building."
During a conference call (transcript courtesy of Seeking Alpha) with stock analysts earlier this month about fourth-quarter results, Amazon chief financial officer Brian T. Olsavsky said the company plans to open five bookstores this year and commented on its various bricks-and-mortar ventures, "We're still in that phase where we're testing and learning and getting better, even on the bookstore. I would say there's other things that are physical in nature, the pop-up stores and college pickup points that we learn from as well, and think creates a great value particularly at the college pickup points."
He also confirmed the importance of the many devices on display in the company's bookstores, saying, "We test, we innovate, we think the bookstores for instance are a really great way for customers to engage with our devices and see them, touch them, play with them and become fans. So we see a lot of value in that as well."