January 6th, 2017
Boston Business Journal
Amazon plans second physical bookstore in Massachusetts
E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. is planning to open a brick-and-mortar bookstore at MarketStreet Lynnfield, a sprawling open-air retail complex located off Route 128 in the North Shore.
The online retail giant (Nasdaq: AMZN) listed the store as “coming soon” on its website.
Amazon’s corporate jobs website has six open positions listed in Lynnfield, including an assistant store manager, a books lead, a device lead and a books associate.
“We are excited to be bringing Amazon Books to MarketStreet Lynnfield in 2017, and we are currently hiring store managers and associates,” spokesperson Deborah Bass said in an email to the Business Journal.
The store would be Amazon’s second brick-and-mortar bookstore in the Bay State. Amazon is also planning a bookstore at Legacy Place in Dedham.
Chestnut Hill-based retail development firm WS Development developed both Legacy Place and MarketStreet. Tenants at MarketStreet Lynnfield include lululemon, Pottery Barn, Nike, J. Crew, Sephora, sweetgreen and Williams-Sonoma.
Seattle-based Amazon opened its first physical bookstore in its hometown in 2015 and has since branched out into San Diego and Portland. Amazon is also planning bookstores at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey; at the Shops at Columbus Circle in New York City; and at the Southport retail complex in Chicago.
“Amazon Books is a physical retail store that offers a curated selection of books and an array of Amazon devices,” the company wrote in one of the job listings. “We’ve applied twenty years of online bookselling experience to build a store that integrates the benefits of retail and online book shopping. Prices are the same as those offered by Amazon.com and the knowledgeable staff tailor their approach to the unique needs of each customer, to deliver an exceptional instore experience.”
A MarketStreet Lynnfield representative was not immediately available to comment.
By: Catherine Carlock