Amazon.com Inc share price down, worldwide expansion continues

Amazon.com Inc will add 1 000 permanent jobs in the UK, invest in India, and build its first brick-and-mortar outlet in New York.

The Internet retailer reported that it will open 1 000 permanent jobs in the UK. The company already has 6 000 workers across its eight distribution hubs, mainly based in small towns, such as Dunfermline in Scotland and Rugeley in Staffordshire. Amazon states that to date it has spent £1 billion on its business in the UK alone.

John Tagawa, director of UK operations, said in a statement: “We have continued to focus day in, day out on providing the very best shopping experience for our customers and as we see greater demand, we are able to rapidly grow our talented team across the UK.”

The company-owned giant warehouses are used to store goods and fill orders, which are specially designed to reduce the amount of time that it takes to deliver merchandise. Staff are given maps to quickly find the shortest way to the location of the purchased good, further reducing queue time. But the online retailer wants to take it a step forward, creating an army of unmanned drones that can deliver a given good within an hour and a half of ordering.

Meanwhile in India, Amazon struck an agreement with Future Group, which operates of some of the biggest retailers in the region such as Big Bazaar, eZone, Brand Factory and Home Town.

At first the partnership is said to allow Future Group to sell its 40 clothing brands using the U.S. giants website and eventually grow into more categories such as home décor, electronics, food and consumer goods.

“Partnership with Amazon will enable us to leverage their strengths, investments and innovations in technology to reach out to wider set of consumers across India,” said Kishore Biyani, chief executive of Future Group.

Amazon said in July that it is investing $2 billion to develop new technologies and build a nationwide delivery system that serves the Indian customer. Analysts estimate annual Internet sales in India to hit $30 billion by 2020, as more and more Indians start shopping online.

Back at 7 West 34th St., across the Empire State Building in Midtown, New York, Amazon is looking to open its first brick-and-mortar outlet. People familiar with the matter said that the company is looking to provide a type of face-to-face experience and connect with customers on a physical level.

Two years ago Amazon scouted locations for a possible store in its home town Seattle, said another person familiar with the situation, but scrapped the idea, mainly to avoid retailing costs, including leases, paying employees and managing inventory.

Matt Nemer, a Wells Fargo analyst, said that opening a physical location is “about marketing the Amazon brand, same-day delivery, ordering online and picking up in store are ideas that are really catching on. Amazon needs to be at the center of that.”

The outlet is set to open for the holiday-shopping season.

As the New York Stock Exchange opened on Monday, Amazon.com Inc. started trading at $309.87 and slid 1.35% in the early trading hours to $307.19 at 14:56 GMT, marking a -1.19% yearly change. The company is valued at $143.87 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 35 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Amazon.com Inc have a median target of $400.00, with a high estimate of $460.00 and a low estimate of $330.00. The median estimate represents a 28.46% increase from the last price of $311.39.