The coronavirus pandemic has hit the already-struggling sector particularly hard.
Some big names have gone bust recently, including Neiman Marcus , J.Crew, and J.C. Penney . Meanwhile, Amazon and other retailers with a large online presence are among the most-obvious winners of the coronavirus crisis.
The wave of bricks-and-mortar bankruptcies has some speculating that Amazon could be interested in scooping up a traditional retailer on the cheap, given its large cash hoard and willingness to take risk.
And it wouldn’t be the first time. Amazon bought Whole Foods Market back in 2017. That deal gave it a refrigerated distribution chain and positioning in attractive market areas.
A department-store acquisition could give Amazon a physical presence closer to more customers and relationships with large branded apparel companies.

Mylan’s Price-to-Earnings Ratio Is 3.7
It makes it the cheapest stock in the S & P 500 relative to its projected 2020 earnings.
Mylan is a large generic and off-patent drug company, and it is about to get much bigger. Later this summer, it is set to merge with Pfizer’s generic drug business, called Upjohn.
But investors are clearly pessimistic about the backdrop for generic drugs in the U.S., and don’t give Mylan shares much credit for its growing portfolio.
Other particularly cheap stocks in the S & P 500 include insurers Prudential Financial , MetLife , and Lincoln National . Old-school media companies ViacomCBS and Discovery also make the top 10.