From the Wall Street Journal:
"Retail giants like Amazon.com Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. think they have found a way to boost their e-commerce operations and save money: Own the warehouses where they stack piles of products.
"While most retailers still tend to lease the shops where they sell products, more firms are calculating that they will save money in the long run and have more control by owning the warehouse where they store and distribute their goods to online customers.
"The 25 largest U.S. retailers acquired about 38 million rentable square feet in new industrial space last year, up from 18.8 million square feet the previous year, according to commercial-real-estate data provider CoStar Group Inc. That is the highest total for at least the past 10 years.
"Amazon is the largest corporate owner of U.S. industrial space, with 78 buildings spanning 83.6 million square feet, according to data and research firm Real Capital Analytics. Walmart Inc., Target Corp. , Kroger Co. and Dollar General Corp. have also purchased industrial space over the past year.
"Some businesses are buying this space in an effort to counter an inventory squeeze caused by supply-chain bottlenecks. Companies want as much inventory in their stores and facilities as they can get, creating a greater need for industrial storage space to support it."
- KC's View:
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One of things that big retailers are learning, and that pus smaller retailers at a disadvantage, is that the more control they can exert over their supply chains, the better off they are. That's why Amazon not only owns many of its facilities, but also has invested in trucks, ships, and planes - it is all about self-determination, to the greatest degree possible.
