The Financial Times reports that Amazon.com plans to get into the wine business, probably by the end of the year.
According to FT, the company is looking to recruit a senior level wine buyer who will be responsible for “the acquisition of a massive new product selection for its site.”
The new category would augment Amazon’s growing, two-year-old dry grocery business, which is focused both on gourmet products and non-perishables; Amazon also is testing the fresh food business, but only with a limited pilot program in its home Seattle market at the current time.
According to FT, the company is looking to recruit a senior level wine buyer who will be responsible for “the acquisition of a massive new product selection for its site.”
The new category would augment Amazon’s growing, two-year-old dry grocery business, which is focused both on gourmet products and non-perishables; Amazon also is testing the fresh food business, but only with a limited pilot program in its home Seattle market at the current time.
- KC's View:
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This makes an awful lot of sense for Amazon. Now that more states than ever are allowing the shipment of wine across borders, Amazon can use these liberalized laws to have a real impact on the business.
The folks at Amazon know who has bought a wine book from its site, as well as various sorts of wine paraphernalia…and that will create a tremendous foundation on which it can build this business.
This is a smart decision, and I would expect Amazon to implement it with its customary panache.
