Amazon Case

In the summer of 1994, Jeff Bezos sacrificed a promising career in investment banking and his personal savings to start what would become ‘‘Earth's Biggest Bookstore,'' Amazon.com. He left New York and went to Seattle, and like so many successful (and unsuccessful) businesses, started out in a garage. The compelling force that drove Bezos was the 2,300 percent annual growth in web usage. He could see that the Internet, which was in its infancy in 1994, would soon become ubiquitous. Features of the book industry made it ideal to focus on selling books, at least initially. The book industry was fragmented, both in terms of the large number of booksellers and publishers. In addition, there were millions of titles and potential customers. The typical bookstore could house a small fraction of all published books, so Amazon.com could market itself as the earth's largest bookstore.

Amazon is the leading online book selling retailer in the USA. Amazon expanded from just a bookstore into selling general electronics, music, videos, toys, apparel, food, and furniture. Amazon has also established separate websites all over the world. (Amazon, 2011) Amazon also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. Amazon focuses on customer satisfaction, and the efficiency of their website. Amazon now provides almost anything you can think of.

When Bezos founded Amazon.com, he focused on hiring talented and unconventional managers and employees. Amazon.com had rigorous requirements for new employees and an obsession for customer service. Amazon.com told temp agencies ‘‘send us your freaks'' (Spector 2002, 113). The hiring of talented employees was coupled with an austere culture, exemplified by the use of desks made of doors and 2X4s. These desks were initially used because they were inexpensive and later because they matched the culture. The result was an atmosphere that could weather the growing pains and ultimately become the most recognizable Internet retailer in the world. Amazon.com's Evolving Strategy

The business model that Jeff Bezos embraced was to grow as quickly as possible. Given the rapid growth of the Internet, it was more important to gain market share and brand recognition than to operate efficiently. The strategy was successful as measured by the dramatic growth in revenue from under $150 million in 1997, the year of the initial public offering (IPO), to over $34 billion in 2010.

Their growth and variation is part of the plan which aims to provide customers with all the products they may want in one location. There are so many advantages to Amazon. It is easy to list items on Amazon. Amazon has its own directory; it is very easy to list products. Products which are not already in the catalogue can be added as long as they have a UPC number or barcode. Amazon guarantees all marketplace businesses so customers can buy with complete confidence. Customers