The doors of the last Toys R Us store had barely closed before Amazon made plans to capitalize on its demise.
Amazon intends to print and distribute a holiday toy catalog, Bloomberg reported July 4, citing people familiar with the matter. The catalog could potentially fill a void left by the “Big Book” that Toys R Us published ahead of each holiday season, featuring around 100 pages of advertising for kids and their parents to flip through. Amazon declined to comment on the report.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg also reported that Amazon had looked into buying store locations from Toys R Us, which declared bankruptcy in September 2017. Those stores would have added to the physical footprint that Amazon acquired with Whole Foods in summer 2017, potentially providing space to showcase popular Amazon devices like the Echo and Alexa, its voice-activated personal assistant.
Both reported plans are yet another sign of Amazon’s move into the physical retail space. After making its name in e-commerce, Amazon has spent the last year reorienting its brand, and in particular its Prime membership program, around real-world offerings.
The company’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods gave it access to more than 400 brick-and-mortar stores, many of which are now draped in bright-blue signs advertising exclusive deals for Prime subscribers. Amazon also is preparing to open a second location for Amazon Go, its cashier-free convenience store.