Amazon is reportedly launching a brand-new line of grocery stores in major US cities

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

The new store is not supposed to compete with Amazon's first grocer, Whole Foods.

• Amazon is launching a new brand of grocery stores, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal.
• The company has already signed leases for the stores, which could open as soon as this year, according to the report.
• The new stores would be distinct from Whole Foods, carrying a larger variety of food, and may or may not carry the Amazon name.

It seems Amazon can't get enough food in its retail diet.

The company is launching a new brand of grocery stores, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

Amazon has already signed leases for three of the stores, one of which would be located in Los Angeles, and could open as soon as this year. Others could pop up in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia.

The new stores would be distinct from Whole Foods, carrying a larger variety of food, and may or may not carry the Amazon name. Whole Foods is limited to the types of items it can carry due to its quality standards and commitment for only natural ingredients in the items it sells.

Read more: Furious shoppers say Whole Foods' produce has turned 'depressing,' 'barren,' and 'bone-dry' - and they blame Amazon

A different store aimed more at mainstream customers could carry items from the biggest brands and could compete directly with big box stores like Walmart, Target, and regional grocers.

The new stores are planned to be about 35,000 square feet, which is typically smaller than a traditional grocery store, according to the report.

Amazon did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The company has increasingly moved into the physical world as it looks for new avenues of growth, expanding store formats like Amazon Go, its cashierless convenience store, Amazon 5star, a curated boutique for highly rated goods, and pop-ups around the country.