More on Amazon's new grocery chain revealed

Amazon is planning to open the first of many stores in its anticipated new grocery chain, starting in the Los Angeles area this February.

According to Yahoo Finance, the first store will open in a former Toys “R” Us space in a strip mall. The store, about two miles from a Whole Foods Market store, is located in an affluent Los Angeles suburb. (Click here for photos.)

The location shows Amazon’s desire to stay close to its core Prime members while experimenting with products Whole Foods can’t offer, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, who spoke to Yahoo Finance.

“I think Amazon has probably looked to where its existing customers are and wanted to move into that area,” Saunders said. “So it's going to pull in a more affluent demographic, but it's going to be a much wider spread of customers than Whole Foods will probably attract.” The median household income in the Woodland Hills neighbourhood in which the store will be located is $85,000, and the median home value is $829,800.

The New York Times reported in July that Amazon was brainstorming a new type of grocery store that would combine traditional shopping with online pickup.

A version of this article appeared at ProgressiveGrocer.com.