The building of new warehouses marks the relentless quest by the online mall Amazon.com
to become all things to all shoppers.
A
million-square-foot warehouse stocking razor blades and books, diapers and dog
food will soon rise on this spot, less than a mile from the highway that will
deliver these and just about every other product imaginable to customers 85
miles away in San Francisco.
A
similar distribution center is being built on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Others are under way in Indiana, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee and
Virginia.
This
multibillion-dollar building frenzy comes as Amazon is about to lose perhaps
its biggest competitive edge — that the vast majority of its customers do not
pay sales tax. After negotiations with lawmakers, the company is beginning to
collect taxes in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and other states. But Amazon
hopes that the warehouses will allow it to provide better service, giving it
the ability to up-end the retailing industry in an entirely new way.
