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SEATTLE - Amazon.com may be gearing up to expand its perishable grocery offering to additional markets, according to some analysts, although the company has yet to disclose any such plans.
Launched six years ago here, AmazonFresh has expanded its reach to about 80 ZIP codes in the Seattle area, but it may be eyeing other markets - including Los Angeles and San Francisco - according to Kate Wendt, a Seattle-based analyst with Wells Fargo Securities.
"Our industry sources suggest they are very close to rolling it out," she told SN last week.
The company reportedly is adding some refrigerated warehouse space as it expands its distribution infrastructure in states where it has struck new agreements for collecting state sales taxes, including California.
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At the Amazon.com annual shareholders' meeting here last month, Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer, said AmazonFresh has "made progress on the economics over the last year," according to reports. "They've been doing a lot of experiments and trying to get the right mixture of customer experience and economics. I'm optimistic that the team is making good progress."
Similarly, in a conference call discussing first-quarter earnings, Thomas J. Szkutak, senior...