Merchandising

Amazon coming to an empty Sears near you

Photo by istock.com

August 11, 2020

Amazon is reportedly mulling moving into vacant mall store locations, including shuttered Sears and JCPenney sites to open up additional fulfillment centers.

The e-commerce giant, according to a CNN report, is talking with Simon Group, the largest U.S. mall operator, about establishing distribution sites.

Simon malls house 63 JCPenney and 11 Sears stores, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The news comes as Amazon aims to expand one-day delivery which would require distribution hubs closer to customers and Simon, like every other mall operator, is striving to get paying tenants.

One analyst, cited by CNN, calls the strategy a "win-win" for Amazon and Simon Group.