Owner: Jeff Bezos
Traditional media: Book surge
Internet sites they own:
Ø Joyo.com
Ø Mobipocket.com
Ø Dpreview.com
Ø Fabric.com
Ø Bookfinder.com
Ø Zappos
Ø Love Film
Revenue: US$
74,452.0 million (2013)
Overall Worth: $90 billion
Facts:
1) Amazon's
initial business plan was unusual; it did not expect to make a profit
for four to five years.
2) On
October 18, 2011, Amazon.com announced a partnership with DC Comics for
the exclusive digital rights to many popular comics, including Superman, Batman, Green
Lantern, The Sandman, and Watch men.
3) Started
off as an online book store and now has Amazon product lines including media books,
DVDs, music CDs, software, videotapes, and software apparel, baby
products, consumer electronics, beauty products, gourmet food,
groceries, health and personal-care items, industrial & scientific
supplies, kitchen items, jewellery and watches, lawn and garden
items, musical instruments, sporting goods, tools, and toys & games.
4) In
2012, Amazon announced the launch of Vine.com for buying green products,
including groceries, household items, and apparel.
5) In
August 2013 Amazon launched Amazon Art as an online marketplace selling
original and limited edition fine art from selected galleries.
Quotes about Amazon:
Ø "If there’s one
reason we have done better than of our peers in the Internet space over the
last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on customer
experience, and that really does matter, I think, in any business. It certainly
matters online, where word of mouth is so very, very powerful." – Jeff
Bezos [1]
Ø “We don’t consider [not
collecting] tax as a competitive advantage.”
--Richard Prem, Amazon’s VP for Indirect Taxes and Tax Reporting [2]
--Richard Prem, Amazon’s VP for Indirect Taxes and Tax Reporting [2]
Ø "A civilization
without retail bookstores is unimaginable. Like shrines and other sacred
meeting places, bookstores are essential artefacts of human nature. The feel of
a book taken from the shelf and held in the hand is a magical experience,
linking writer to reader."
--Jason Epstein, Book Business, quoted in The Amazon Effect, May 29, 2012 [2]
--Jason Epstein, Book Business, quoted in The Amazon Effect, May 29, 2012 [2]
The Wall Street Journal [3]
Ø Amazon is pushing for a
greater share of e-book revenue and lower e-book prices.
Ø Hachette on Tuesday
afternoon indicated it wouldn't accept the idea. The publisher said,
"Amazon has just sent us a brief proposal. We invite Amazon to withdraw
the sanctions they have unilaterally imposed, and we will continue to negotiate
in good faith and with the hope of a swift conclusion."
Ø Amazon then shot back.
Referring to a statement from the publisher earlier Tuesday that accepting such
a proposal would be suicidal, Amazon said: "We call baloney. Hachette is
part of a $10 billion global conglomerate. It wouldn't be 'suicide.' They can
afford it. What they're really making clear is that they absolutely want their
authors caught in the middle of this negotiation because they believe it
increases their leverage. All the while, they are stalling and refusing to
negotiate, despite the pain caused to their authors. Our offer is sincere. They
should take us up on it."
Ø A spokeswoman for Amazon
said that Mr. Preston "can opt out of the offer for himself if he wants
to, but he shouldn't stand in the way of debut and midlist authors benefiting
from this offer."
Ø Despite the highly public
nature of the trade dispute, Amazon has mostly kept a low profile. In a posting
on its website in late May, Amazon said that it was "not optimistic"
that the disagreement would be resolved soon. Earlier this month, Russ
Grandinetti, Amazon's senior vice president of Kindle content, told The Wall
Street Journal that Amazon believed it was acting "in the long-term
interest of our customers."
Economic times: [4]
Ø Trade unions from five
countries met in Germany to coordinate a campaign to push for better
working conditions at online retailerAmazon.com Inc.
Ø German union Verdi, which
has organised a series of strikes at Amazon distribution centres over
the last year, hosted the meeting in Berlin with unions from Poland, the Czech
Republic, Britain and the United States.
Ø A Verdi spokeswoman said the
participants had expressed similar complaints about Amazon, including over pay,
the role of trade unions in the workplace and stress suffered by workers due to
long shifts collecting goods in large warehouses.
Ø Amazon is planning to build
three new logistics centres in Poland and two in the Czech Republic, prompting speculation that
it could seek to shift work across the border from strike-hit centres in
Germany.
Ø Verdi is not immediately
concerned about that threat, as delivering from outside Germany would be slower
for Amazon, but could coordinate action with union colleagues in Poland and
Czech Republic if it comes to that, the spokeswoman said.
Amazon home page:
Ø Offers
Ø Accounts
Ø Products
Ø Other country amazon
webpages
Ø Gift cards
Ø Contact information
Ø Customer service
Ø Company information.
Bibliography
