The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google

by Scott Galloway

Most e-commerce firms can never get to profitability and, at some point, investors tire of a vision that’s “reheated Bezos.” The firm gets sold (Gilt, Hautelook, Red Envelope) or shutters (Boo.com, Fab, Style.com). A combination of a winner-take-all ecosystem, accelerating customer acquisition, last-mile costs, and a generally inferior (online) experience, makes pure-play e-commerce untenable. Amazon doesn’t escape this fact. But even if Amazon’s core business (pure-play e-commerce) is a difficult one for turning a profit, the immense value Amazon has delivered to consumers has created the most trusted and reputable consumer brand on the planet.59,60 Amazon has dominated e-commerce sales volume, but its business model isn’t easily replicated or sustained. These days, it’s easy to forget that Amazon did not turn its first profit until Q4 2001, seven years after its founding,61 and has dipped in and out of profitability ever since. In the past few years, Amazon has traded on this brand equity, leveraging it to extend into other businesses, and has expanded into other, simply better (more profitable) businesses. Looking back, Amazon’s retail platform just may have been the Trojan horse that established the relationships and brand later monetized with other businesses. While year-to-year

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