Amazon Pops Up With Booze In Tokyo

Amazon is opening a bar — for a few days, anyway, in Tokyo, Japan.

According to news from Bloomberg, for the next 10 days, the online retailer will be slinging beer, wine, sake and cocktails at a pop-up store in the Ginza district to promote alcoholic products sold on its website in Japan.

Amazon has, of late, done all sorts of things to boost its presence in consumers’ “real lives,” from opening bookstores to acquiring grocery giant Whole Foods Market. But its newest effort at operating a pop-up bar is largely unprecedented in the retailer’s evolution so far and is a unique way to promote its many wares.

“Amazon Bar will offer a wide variety of drinks procured from across the globe and offer exclusive products as well as samples of products not yet on store shelves,” the company said in a statement Thursday.

The 78-seat bar’s ordering system will suggest alcoholic beverages and, at times, tap a sommelier to dispense wine advice. Some food will be on offer, and the Tokyo pop-up bar will be open for evenings beginning Oct. 20. For those looking to grab a seat, reports indicated it is within a short distance of the Emporio Armani store in the Ginza district, around the corner from the Apple and Louis Vuitton flagships outlets in the city.