Amazon to open brick-and-mortar stores

Reuters writes.

Analysts said the move might be inspired by the success of Apple, which has hundreds of its own glitzy stores to show off iPhones, iPads and other gadgets and accessories.

Baltimore Sun says Quidsi, an online retailer Amazon acquired in 2010, opened its first retail store in Manhasset, New York, last year to sell expensive cosmetics and perfumes under the BeautyBar name.

Amazon also plans to open a physical store in its hometown of Seattle in coming months to showcase and sell its growing line of gadgets, including the Kindle Fire tablet.

At a conference in late 2011, run by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, some industry players hinted that Amazon might launch a retail store presence like Apple to let consumers test its gadgets, according to Cowen & Co. analyst Jim Friedland, CA Club India notes.

"The primary goal of the test is to determine if a physical retail presence can accelerate sales of Kindle devices and follow-on consumption of digital content at an attractive return on invested capital," Friedland said.