SEATTLE — Amazon is accelerating its grocery push with signed leases for more than a dozen locations in Los Angeles as well as sites in Chicago and Philadelphia, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

The newspaper cited anonymous sources in reporting that the stores will carry groceries that won’t compete with its Whole Foods Market outlets. Amazon cited a policy of not commenting on rumors or speculation.

Sources told WSJ that one of the first stores in the new concept will be in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Amazon is listed on permits for renovation of an approximately 35,000-square-foot building that used to house a Toys ‘R’ Us store.

WSJ’s sources said many of the proposed locations are outside urban cores and would cater to middle-income consumers. Amazon is said to be looking at grocery spaces in the New York metropolitan area, New Jersey and Connecticut, many of which are in strip centers and would accommodate stores ranging in size from 20,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet.

Amazon has about 500 Whole Foods Market stores in 42 states, which comprise the bulk of Amazon’s retail footprint. The company also has 18 open and announced Amazon Go stores, 19 Amazon Books stores and six Amazon 4-star stores. Its Physical Stores division had $4.3 billion in revenue in the second quarter. Overall revenue was $64.3 billion.