Amazon could buy Macy's, Kohl's, or JCPenney over Target (AMZN, TGT, KSS)

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January 5, 2018 9:08 PM

Amazon's potential acquisition targets include Macy's, JCPenney, Kohl's, Lowe's, and Williams Sonoma.

Speculation is swirling that
Target would give Amazon access to nearly 2,000 stores, but it has too much overlap with Amazon in certain categories, according to Steve Dennis, the founder of retail advisory firm SageBerry Consulting.
Other potential Amazon acquisitions include Macy's, JCPenney, Kohl's, Lowe's, and Williams Sonoma.

An analyst's prediction this week that Amazon would buy Target has ignited a fury of speculation about the ecommerce giant's acquisition plans in 2018.

Loup Ventures' analyst Gene Munster said that buying T

Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Munster's Target prediction, but many agree with his basic premise: that Amazon "

Amazon's $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods last year offered clear evidence of that strategy.

But Whole Foods has only 470 stores — compared to Walmart's more than 4,700 US locations — and controls just 1.2% of the grocery market. If Amazon wants to level the playing field with Walmart in the physical retail world, it will need a lot more stores.

That's why many analysts, like Munster, are confident that Amazon will make another major retail acquisition this year.

Target would give Amazon access to nearly 2,000 stores, but it has too much overlap with Amazon in categories like electronics, health and beauty, cleaning products, and entertainment, according to Steve Dennis,

Some top contenders could be Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney, Lowe's, or a furniture retailer like Williams Sonoma, Dennis said.

Lowe's, meanwhile, would give Amazon access to the home improvement market, a business that's "impossible to penetrate from a pure online presence," Dennis said.

Why not Home Depot?

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