Amazon expands and takes a leaf out of Argos’ book

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Amazon made headlines on both sides of the Atlantic today as it continues its UK expansion drive and even incurred the wrath of President Trump.

The online giant unveiled plans to open a futuristic new fulfilment centre in Bristol next year which will create 1,000 full-time jobs and be equipped with advanced robotics technology.

The distribution hub will be the retailer’s thirteenth in the UK and take its total workforce here up to 24,000.

Amazon has bucked the trend of UK retailers tightening their belts– whilst Sainsbury’s, Asda and Wilko have all revealed job cuts this month, the online Goliath has continued to expand relentlessly.

The same is true for the retailer’s operations back on its home soil in the US, where it has unveiled plans to launch instant pick-up points for online purchases.

The initiative will see shoppers given a unique bar code to access orders they have made online at bricks-and-mortar locations in minutes.

But if you ask me, for a business that is driving innovations across voice ordering and drones, an Argos lookalike doesn’t seem to be its most inspired endeavour.

Someone else that has been less than wowed by Amazon today is, bizarrely, President Trump, who took to Twitter to blast the retailer for “doing great damage to tax-paying retailers.”

Also today, Jack Wills poached Burberry executive Claire Waugh to be its first chief marketing officer.