Amazon eliminates fashion stores from its range. However, this is not the first time that the tech giant has given up physical stores. The recent decision, however, marks a drastic shift in the retail strategy of the e-commerce giant. According to CNBC, Amazon will close its clothing stores, which opened in Los Angeles only a year and a half ago.

On November 9th, the two branches in Columbus, Ohio, and Glendale, California, are to close permanently. "After careful consideration, we have decided to close our two physical Amazon Style retail stores and focus on our online fashion shopping experience," explained Amazon spokesperson Kristen Kish, citing Bloomberg. There, they can continue to "offer new, exciting choices at a good price-performance ratio and introduce innovative technologies to meet the needs of every customer."

Despite exiting brick-and-mortar retail, Amazon will continue to invest in this sector. This includes Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go, and partnerships with third-party providers, says Kish. However, this is not the company's first retreat from the offline world. According to Forbes, last year Amazon closed a series of bookstores, pop-up stores and convenience stores to cut costs. In total, the company separated from 68 physical locations.

Amazon has already closed physical stores this year too, including eight locations of the cashierless Amazon Go stores in April. A spokesperson explained at the time that the company regularly evaluates its branch portfolio and makes optimization decisions. Nevertheless, Amazon announced that it would stick to the Amazon Go format and continue to invest in it.

In the past quarter, Amazon was able to make almost five billion US dollars with its physical stores. However, compared to this, the technology giant's online shop brought in 57 billion US dollars. According to Forbes, CFO Brian Olsavsky stated that Amazon recorded a depreciation of 720 million US dollars in the last quarter, with Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go accounting for the largest part. Subsequently, the company announced in March that it would close eight Amazon Go stores due to a portfolio value loss.

With the recent decision to close its two physical fashion stores, Amazon marks a renewed change in its strategy for brick-and-mortar retail, according to CNBC. However, the company still wants to continue opening new stores and expanding its Fresh grocery chain. Two newly designed stores opened recently in Chicago.

Kish also emphasized the close collaboration with the affected employees to give them the opportunity to switch to other roles within the company. For those who decide against staying at Amazon, a severance package is planned. The future of Amazon's physical business remains to be seen.