Amazon to sell products in Kohl’s department stores
In a rather different approach, Kohl’s have agreed a deal with Amazon that will see the e-commerce giant’s products being sold in its department stores, with Amazon set to open 10 of its own 1,000 sq ft shops within Kohl’s branches.
“We are thrilled to offer a unique new way for customers to try out our line-up of Alexa-enabled Amazon devices, learn more about our smart home services from Amazon experts and then buy those items directly from Amazon—all within Kohl’s stores,” said Dave Zimmer, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Amazon Devices.
“Teaming up with Kohl’s provides an incredible opportunity to pair world-class customer and shopping experiences.”
The move is the latest approach from Amazon to expand its brand, having recently taken steps to show it is not content to remain purely as an ecommerce platform, demonstrated last month with its $13.7bn purchase of Whole Foods.
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Whilst many retailers have been fighting back against Amazon’s advances, including Wal-Mart’s reported pressuring of its affiliates and Target’s shift away from Amazon’s cloud service, Kohl’s has taken the opposite approach, hoping to use Amazon’s continual growth to its advantage.
“We believe in the power of our store portfolio and know that our future as a best-in-class omnichannel retailer will be driven by how inventive, compelling and unique we can make our store experience,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s Chief Merchandising and Customer Officer.
“Kohl’s and Amazon share a customer obsession and we’ve joined together to leverage each other’s strengths and deliver a great experience customers can only find at Kohl’s.”
The new Amazon smart home experience will be available in 10 selected Kohl’s stores beginning October 2017.
