A day after the CEO of mall operator General Growth Properties said be believes it is Amazon's goal to open 300 to 400 bookstores, his company has issued a statement qualifying those remarks.
Sandy Mathrani referred to Amazon's supposed expansion plan during GGP's earnings conference call on Tuesday. On Wednesday, GGP released a statement that Mathrani's comment "was not intended to represent Amazon's plans."
After Mathrani's comment was picked up by the Wall Street Journal, it led to widespread speculation in the media about whether Amazon is, indeed, getting more invested in bricks and mortar retailing. But speculation is all that the comment has generated.
GGP refused to elaborate on Mathrani's remarks on Tuesday. Amazon, as is its standard practice, also kept mum. When PW reached out to the online retailer on Tuesday, an Amazon spokesperson said the company does not comment on "rumors and speculation."
The Wednesday statement from GGP comes just as word began circulating that Amazon has posted job openings for several bookstore positions in the San Diego/La Jolla area. The openings were first posted on Tuesday.
According to the job board postings, Amazon is currently looking to fill five positions: assistant store manager, bookseller, books lead, store manager, and device lead. Although the postings say Amazon is looking to hire multiple people to fill these roles, it's unclear whether the company is trying to staff several potential stores, or a single location, with these hires.
Asked whether the job postings prove the company is planning to open more Amazon Books locations, an Amazon spokesperson said the only publicly announced store is the one operating in Seattle.
So what does Amazon look for in potential bookstore employees? It's preferred managers have a bachelor's degree in either English literature, business administration or operations management. It's also preferred they have at least seven years’ experience in “a retail or customer-facing environment,” and “the ability to lift 50 lbs.”
