VMSD - December 2017 - 20

Amazon Prime

Amazon has
stepped
down from
Olympus, like
Zeus, to play
the mortals'
game,
becoming a
bricks-andmortar
retailer itself.

20

DeceMBeR 2017

|

vMsD.coM

In 2017, VMSD chose Amazon as its Retailer of the
Year. Think about that. A magazine devoted to bricksand-mortar retailing for 120 years chose to honor the
"anti-brick."
It was a declaration of how all traditional retail
has had to transform its way of doing business: creating its own compelling online
presence and efficient operations;
reimagining its brand; finding ways
to reach the online shopper by participating in some
aspect of online retail.
But Amazon has done more than rewrite the rules
from its lofty online position. It has stepped down
from Olympus, like Zeus, to play the mortals' game,
becoming a bricks-and-mortar retailer itself.

Whole Foods and More
Easily, the biggest story of 2017 was Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods Market (Austin, Texas). What
would it mean for traditional grocery shopping? What
would it mean for the distinctive Whole Foods brand?
But Amazon was active elsewhere, too. During the
year, it announced a partnership with Sears (Hoffman
Estates, Ill.) to start selling Kenmore brand appliances.
(Fortune said it was an extension of Amazon's efforts to
dominate all product sectors, much like Bentonville,
Ark.-based Walmart did 20 and 30 years ago.) It then
unveiled a partnership with Kohl's (Menomonee Falls,
Wis.), which would open Amazon smart home experience shops inside some of the department store retailer's
locations, which would
accept Amazon returns
- all to attract online shoppers to their stores.
Amazon also expanded
its bookstore chain, opening
its 12th store in Los Angeles
this past fall. And it's toying
with new retail concepts, like
Amazon Go - a transactionless shopping experience -
that's still being tested by its
employees in Seattle.
What's next?

Is Geoffrey the Giraffe an
Endangered Species?
Toys "R" Us (Wayne, N.J.), one of the earliest of the big-box
category killers, filed for bankruptcy protection in September, seemingly a victim of the online shopping surge.
But Toys "R" Us' problems went way beyond online
competition. The company said it
needed to revamp long-term debt of
more than $5 billion. It was acquired
by private equity players for about
$6 billion in 2005. In 2018, $400 million of that debt comes due, and
the company has been burning
cash to stay operational.
It has insisted its chain of
1600 Toys "R" Us and Babies "R"
Us stores would remain open and
operating as usual, at least through
the holidays, thanks to a $3.1 billion
operating loan. Oddly, sales were beginning to trend upward. But, in the toy business, Christmas is everything.


http://www.vMsD.coM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - December 2017

Vmsd - December 2017
Contents
From the Editor
Vmsd Editorial Advisory Board
The Goods
Next Store
Top Stories of 2017
Brooklyn Bound
Reality Begins at Home
Special Report: Retail Design & Construction
Showroom
Ad Index
Checking Out
VMSD - December 2017 - Intro
VMSD - December 2017 - BB1
VMSD - December 2017 - BB2
VMSD - December 2017 - Vmsd - December 2017
VMSD - December 2017 - Cover2
VMSD - December 2017 - 1
VMSD - December 2017 - Contents
VMSD - December 2017 - 3
VMSD - December 2017 - From the Editor
VMSD - December 2017 - 5
VMSD - December 2017 - Vmsd Editorial Advisory Board
VMSD - December 2017 - 7
VMSD - December 2017 - The Goods
VMSD - December 2017 - 9
VMSD - December 2017 - 10
VMSD - December 2017 - 11
VMSD - December 2017 - 12
VMSD - December 2017 - 13
VMSD - December 2017 - 14
VMSD - December 2017 - 15
VMSD - December 2017 - Next Store
VMSD - December 2017 - 17
VMSD - December 2017 - Top Stories of 2017
VMSD - December 2017 - 19
VMSD - December 2017 - 20
VMSD - December 2017 - 21
VMSD - December 2017 - 22
VMSD - December 2017 - 23
VMSD - December 2017 - 24
VMSD - December 2017 - 25
VMSD - December 2017 - Brooklyn Bound
VMSD - December 2017 - 27
VMSD - December 2017 - 28
VMSD - December 2017 - 29
VMSD - December 2017 - 30
VMSD - December 2017 - Reality Begins at Home
VMSD - December 2017 - 32
VMSD - December 2017 - Special Report: Retail Design & Construction
VMSD - December 2017 - 34
VMSD - December 2017 - 35
VMSD - December 2017 - 36
VMSD - December 2017 - 37
VMSD - December 2017 - 38
VMSD - December 2017 - 39
VMSD - December 2017 - 40
VMSD - December 2017 - 41
VMSD - December 2017 - 42
VMSD - December 2017 - Showroom
VMSD - December 2017 - 44
VMSD - December 2017 - 45
VMSD - December 2017 - 46
VMSD - December 2017 - 47
VMSD - December 2017 - 48
VMSD - December 2017 - 49
VMSD - December 2017 - 50
VMSD - December 2017 - 51
VMSD - December 2017 - 52
VMSD - December 2017 - 53
VMSD - December 2017 - Ad Index
VMSD - December 2017 - 55
VMSD - December 2017 - Checking Out
VMSD - December 2017 - Cover3
VMSD - December 2017 - Cover4
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