The news came not from Amazon, but Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of General Growth Properties. "You've got Amazon opening brick-and-mortar bookstores and their goal is to open, as I understand, 300 to 400," he said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon has declined to comment and it's unclear where Mathrani received his information, but the WSJ speculated it was information gleaned from conversations with Amazon real-estate executives.

Mathrani also pointed to other online retailers expanding into physical locations as a boon to mall operators. Birchbox, Bonobos and Warby Parker are all opening stores to capture new customers.

Amazon opened its first bookstore in November in Seattle and there has been much chatter about the e-tailer's plans regarding physical expansion.

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