How Amazon Grew to be an E-Commerce Giant
“Because, you know, resilience – if you think of it in terms of the Gold Rush, then you’d be pretty depressed right now because the last nugget of gold would be gone. But the good thing is, with innovation, there isn’t a last nugget. Every new thing creates two new questions and two new opportunities.” – Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com
Without the vision of Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com would not be the most successful online retail website it is today. It first started out in 1994, when Bezos had an idea to make an online bookstore where he can feature a long list of available books. Brick-and-mortar bookstores cannot print out thick book catalogues that needs to be updated over time. Bezos sought to resolve that with his budding business idea.
Bezos saw an opportunity to engage in a retail business when he observed that Internet usage is growing leaps and bounds at 2,300 percent. He gave up his secure and comfortable position as the Vice President of D.E. Shaw, a company in New York that specializes in computer science applications to the stock market.
1995 is a busy year for Bezos. He relocated with his wife to Seattle, where he established Amazon.com with the use of three Sun microstations. In the 16th of July, he opened his website to the world, with the help of 300 beta testers. One month later, Amazon had delivered books all over the United States and 45 other countries worldwide.
The website has been continuously improved by Bezos and his staff. They work hard to focus on making the site user-friendly, with features like one-click shopping, customer product reviews and e-mail verification. In 1998, they began selling merchandise other than books. Due to incessant customer queries and requests, they added music and DVDs to their inventory.
In spite of the Internet stock market bubble crash in 2001, Amazon.com endured the lean times and remained standing when other dot-com companies crashed. Bezos restructured the system and cut losses such as unprofitable products and excess workforce. It rose again and built up its reputation on a vast selection and a trustworthy brand name that ensures customer satisfaction. Years had gone by, and they carried on to expanding their product list to over 31 categories, like a huge online department store.
Amazon.com continues to grow, opening up seven branches overseas. From three computers, the website has become a successful online retail website that offers different types of products. There are books, movies, music and games, then electronic gadgets and computers. Clothing and shoes are also featured, as well as home improvement goods and sports equipment.
Now, more than 900,000 third-party sellers partner with Amazon to sell off their merchandise. There seems no end to the innovation and vision of its owner and CEO as new business ideas continue to flow and pour in. Bezos unveiled Kindle, the most sought-after e-book reading device today. It uses E-Ink technology that allows digital text to imitate a print-like appearance to minimize eyestrain associated with reading from the computer. This device also allows the user to keep in storage hundreds of written works and publications. E-books can also be downloaded for as little as $2 to $15.
Last 2009, the company has started renting out DVDs in United Kingdom and Germany. Who knows what Amazon.com will bring out to the world this 2012 and the coming years?
For more information about Amazon’s growth, click here to see an infograph to supply you with the details.
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