The History Book Club discussion
ENTREPRENEURS/LEADERS/COMPANIES
>
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND CLOUD COMPUTING COMPANIES AND FOUNDERS
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
by
Richard L. BrandtSynopsis:
Amazon's business model is deceptively simple: Make online shopping so easy and convenient that customers won't think twice. It can almost be summed up by the button on every page: "Buy now with one click."Why has Amazon been so successful? Much of it has to do with Jeff Bezos, the CEO and founder, whose unique combination of character traits and business strategy have driven Amazon to the top of the online retail world.
Richard Brandt charts Bezos's rise from computer nerd to world- changing entrepreneur. His success can be credited to his forward-looking insights and ruthless business sense. Brandt explains:
Why Bezos decided to allow negative product reviews, correctly guessing that the earned trust would outweigh possible lost sales.
Why Amazon zealously guards some patents yet freely shares others.
Why Bezos called becoming profitable the "dumbest" thing they could do in 1997.
How Amazon.com became one of the only dotcoms to survive the bust of the early 2000s.
Where the company is headed next.
Through interviews with Amazon employees, competitors, and observers, Brandt has deciphered how Bezos makes decisions. The story of Amazon's ongoing evolution is a case study in how to reinvent an entire industry, and one that anyone in business today ignores at their peril.
Mod
He apparently still thinks so 20 years later. Within the last 10 years, Amazon's net profit margin has never exceeded 3.68%, ranking it lower than 56% of the 990 companies in its global industry (source).
Mod
Mod
What amazes me is that he has convinced so many investors to buy into that, despite our culture of wanting everything right now. Amazon has a $685 billion market capitalization and a price-to-earnings ratio of 232. Those numbers are insane.
Mod
Mod
Mod
Most department stores have horrible efficiency problems. It will be interesting to see who survives in that space, if anyone.
Toys R Us, which recently declared bankruptcy, was designed for a market that only existed for a few decades. It was extremely successful during that time, but it never evolved.
Grocery store disruption predates the internet age. Superstores were introduced in the 1960s, then big box stores a few decades later, then internet commerce. This killed companies like A&P and Marsh that couldn't keep up with the changes. Kroger, on the other hand, replaced almost every single one of its stores with a superstore during the 1980s and has made other adaptations since then. Kroger has been around since 1883. It is older than GE and will probably outlive it.
by
Joseph Alois Schumpeter
Mod
I wonder. I am very worried about the department stores - many have been hit hard already and are going under.
Mod
Mod
It is tough for department stores. They are too big and trying to sell too wide a variety of products. Customers often get frustrated because they can't find their away around and don't feel like they are getting the best prices.
Kohl's and JCPenney have created a customer value identity. Nordstrom and Von Maur have stuck to the quality, high end market. Those were good choices that will protect their businesses for longer. I worry most about those in the middle: Macy's, Carson's, Dillards, etc.
I give it 5 years until we are watching the Verizon Wireless Thanksgiving Day Parade because Macy's can't afford it anymore.
Mod
Why not the Amazon Thanksgiving Day Parade? (smile)
Mod
That would be a better transition from Macy's, and that is the weekend to advertise retail. Wal-Mart might be more likely to feel like they need the marketing though. Notice that Amazon does very little TV marketing other than for Alexa. People don't need to be told to shop on Amazon.
It's the same way with other big internet companies. You don't see NASCAR running a Facebook 500 (despite the alliteration opportunity), and you don't see new stadiums being labeled Google Search Field (another missed opportunity). They just don't need the marketing. They already are the marketing.
Most marketing these days is dominated by price competitive industries like telecommunications and property and casualty insurance. If you need a title sponsor for a televised event, it's probably going to be Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, GEICO, All State, or Progressive.
Mod
Alibaba opens China’s first ‘car vending machine’
https://www.rt.com/business/422857-al...
So that's a thing now...
Mod
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (other topics)One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Joseph A. Schumpeter (other topics)Richard L. Brandt (other topics)
Some examples that come to mind are Alibaba, Amazon.com, Apple, eBay, Google, PayPal, ASOS.com, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Costco, Gamestop, Groupon, Visa, Walmart.
Some examples of founders are Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, Steve Jobs, Pierre Omidyar, Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek, Ken Howery, Nick Robertson, William Barnes, G. Clifford Noble, Andrew Mason, Leonard Riggio, Richard M. Schultz, James Sinegal, Gary Kusin, Eric Lefkofsky, Brad Keywell, Dee Hock, Sam Walton.