Amazon.com is an American multinational electronic commerce company with headquarters
in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the
world's largest online retailer. The company also produces consumer electronics—notably the Amazon Kindle
e-book reader
and the Kindle Fire
tablet
computer—and is a major provider of cloud
computing services. It is founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos . Since its
creation in 1995 when Amazon began as an online bookstore, they have
significantly expanded the product offerings, international sites, and worldwide
network of fulfillment and customer-service centers. Amazon issued its initial public offering of stock on May 15, 1997,
trading under the NASDAQ
stock exchange symbol AMZN, at a price of US$18.00 per share.
Amazon uses the traditional retail principles and innovative
application of marketing practices. Jeff Bezos incorporated the company (as Cadabra) in July 1994,
and the site went online as amazon.com in 1995.The company was renamed after
the Amazon River, one of the largest rivers in the world. Amazon vision‘‘Earths most customer centric
company-Start with customers and work
backwards’’. Amazon has separate retail websites for the
following countries: United States, Canada, United
Kingdom, France,
Germany,
Italy,
Spain,
Japan,
and China,
with international shipping to certain other countries for some of its
products. It is also expected to launch its websites in Poland, Brazil, Netherlands
and Sweden.
Amazon.com started as an online bookstore,
but soon diversified, selling DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food,
toys, and jewelry. In 2003 Amazon passed the $5 billion
sales mark – it took Wal-Mart 20 years to achieve this. Amazon has only 69100 employees,
Wal-Mart has 2.2 million employees.
HOW DID AMAZON GROW
Amazon is a company that
leveraged trends ,market shifts to take advantage of new technologies and new
ways of people shopping.Its objective is not to discount a small number
of products for a limited period of time, but to offer low prices everyday and
apply them broadly across our entire product range. Half of
all Amazon book sales are digital, creating growth where most competitors have
stagnated and declined . Around 50% of Amazon revenues was generated outside the
U.S. whereas WalMart, have struggled in foreign markets . Amazon
developed game-changing technology and capabilities allowing it to do what
customers wanted, but other retailers were unwilling to create.
WHAT IS AMAZON BUSINESS
STRATEGY
“Amazon's evolution from
Web site to e-commerce partner to development platform is driven by the spirit
of innovation that is part of the company's DNA”.
Ø Amazon do not over emphasise competitors – It has turned some of them
like Borders in to collaborators.
Ø Allows clear sensing of customer needs & preferences.
Ø Customer is the key at all levels in the Organisation.
Ø Customer Loyalty and repeat purchase.
Ø Very low fixed costs.
Ø Geographical expansion in Canada, Western Europe, Japan & most recently
China.
HOW AMAZON MAINTAINS RELATIONSHIP
•
Customers
–
Satisfied Customer
–
Effective Process management
–
Low costs
•
Competitors
–
Superior Technology Platform – value
for competitors to use the platform, advantage for Amazon to offer wider choice.
–
Turn them into collaborators.
•
Collaborators
–
Amazon Marketplace – Customers and
retailers can sell their new and old items.
–
Amazon Merchants – Larger third
party Merchants.
CONCLUSION
Though facing many
challenges and opportunities they are constantly improving customer experience,
investing in the existing platform and focusing on optimizing free cash flow.
In website design a
first concern is not being cool, but fulfillment of its purpose, which is… maximum sales.
The quality of the operations and logistics high standards are
within the level of the online user experience making the Amazon brand
stronger.
“ Innovation is the
Foundation of Everything We Do” – Amazon.
