Rochester Life

Michigan’s First Amazon Department Store opening in Rochester Hills?

What is replacing the Best Buy location at the Hampton Village Shopping Center?

Construction crews have gutted the inside and the facade is nicely taking shape at this sprawling complex at the NE Corner of Auburn Road and Rochester Road. Curious shoppers want to know who will fill this prime location that serves as the opposite anchor to the south end Target.

Rumors are flying that Amazon is going to open a Department Store at this location.

Construction to replace Best Buy with an Amazon Department Store

Will Amazon replace Best Buy as northend anchor of Hampton Village Shopping Center?

This would coincide with recent reports that Amazon is planning on opening retail stores across the US. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon planned on opening large physical department stores to help the company attract shoppers that desire hands-on experience with clothing, household goods and tech products.

This would compete directly with both Target and Kohl’s that sit on the south end of the Hampton Village Shopping Center.

Freshly painted parking lot awaits Amazon customers

Apparently, Amazon isn’t satisfied with ranking #2 in the Fortune 500, running behind only mega-retailer Walmart. Walmart ranks #1 in the 2021 Fortune 500 with $559 billion in revenue, Amazon ranks #2 with $386 billion in revenue. Amazon recognizes a portion of the population seeks Walmart's tangible store experience.

Walmart’s physical coverage of the US geography is unprecedented in department store retail with over 5,000 stores. In addition, to this local reach, Walmart launched Walmart+ last September. This year-old program touts the benefits and savings of an in-store and online shopping combo that no other retailer can offer. Clearly, at $98 per year and free shipping with no order minimum, Walmart+ is a direct play against Amazon.

In order to catch and surpass Walmart as #1 on the Fortune 500, Amazon is growing a physical presence.

Amazon currently has one physical store in Michigan. The Amazon 4-Star store located at The Somerset Collection in Troy. This location offers products rated 4-stars and above along with new and trending items based on Amazon purchase metrics. With the atmosphere of a “As-Seen-on-TV” outlet, the store offers everything from board games to kitchen appliances. To keep up with the trend theme, 20% of inventory is turned over every week, with Tuesday’s being the start of new in-store product displays. The Amazon 4-star store opened in March of 2020.

Amazon 4-star store located in Troy's Somerset Collection

Amazon Expanding Physical Stores

The Rochester Hills Amazon Department Store would be the first in Michigan and join the Somerset 4-star location as only the second Amazon branded store in the state.

Amazon is growing their US portfolio of physical stores with 113 Amazon branded locations at the time of this publication, including 24 Amazon Book stores, 35 Amazon 4-star stores, 18 Amazon Fresh stores, 4 Amazon Go stores and 8 Amazon Pop Ups. Amazon also owns 500+ Whole Foods Markets in the US, Canada and UK.

Counting Whole Foods Market, which has 7 Michigan based stores, Rochester Hills would be the home to both a Whole Foods Market and an Amazon Department Store, the only city in Michigan with that distinction.

The Rochester Hills Amazon Department Store location fits ideal logistics for a company that obsesses with process. The store is only a half-mile from M-59, which is a direct 8-mile drive west to one of Amazon’s newest and largest fulfillment centers on the grounds of the former Pontiac Silverdome. The fulfilment center is only 8 miles from the Amazon 4-star at Somerset. This all-screams efficiency Amazon style!

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