Amazon helped crush department stores. Now it reportedly wants to be one

Amazon upended the US brick-and-mortar department store model built by companies like Sears and J.C. Penney. Now, the e-commerce giant reportedly has plans to open physical stores that resemble the concept it's helping to crush.

Amazon is expected to open department stores in the United States, starting in Ohio and California, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The stores are expected to be roughly 30,000 square feet — less than a third of the size of a traditional department store. Amazon will sell clothing, household items, electronics and other merchandise at the stores, the Journal reported. The company's growing lineup of private, in-house brands are expected to be featured prominently. Amazon (AMZN) declined to comment on its plans. "We do not comment on rumors and speculation," a spokesperson for the company said in an email.