Seattle-based Amazon.com said it has leased two
distribution facilities located in Kentucky — one in Campbellsville and
one
in Lexington — that will reduce shipping times to key markets in the
Midwest.
The Campbellsville and Lexington distribution centers will allow
Amazon.com
to significantly increase the number of books, CDs, videos, and other
products kept on hand for immediate shipment to customers, the company
said.
The existing 570,000-square-foot Campbellsville facility will be expanded
to approximately 770,000 square feet this year. The Lexington facility has a
capacity of 600,000 square feet.
Amazon.com said it expects its Campbellsville facility to employ 500
people
within
a few months of operation and as many as 1,000 within two years. The
Lexington
facility will employ more than 200 people within a few months of operation
and as
many as 500 within two years.
These are the fourth and fifth regionally targeted increases in
Amazon.com’s
distribution capability. In April the company leased a facility that will
be
expanded to more than 750,000 square feet in Coffeyville, Kan. In January
the
company obtained a
322,560-square-foot facility near Reno, Nev. In November 1997 the company
opened a 202,000-square-foot center in New Castle, Del. The company’s
Seattle
distribution center has 93,000 square feet of space.