Published: Tuesday, 28 June, 2016 10:29 AM
Brand article - on Amazon
Management Gurus have always opined that Brand will be born and dying during Brand life cycles and will need push for their sustainability.
Amazon.com or Amazon is one of the biggest electronic commerce and cloud computing company in the world. It was one of the first big companies to see goods over the internet and since its launch in 1995, Amazon has created a huge impact on the market and has become a name that people trust.
1. Launch
Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, who left his employment as vice president of D.E. Shaw & Co and moved to Seattle, where he developed the idea which would ultimately give rise to Amazon. Headquartered in Seattle, US, the company started as an online bookstore but in subsequent years diversified into online music and video business (1998), selling toys, electronics, tools and hardware (1999).
Celebrating 3 years Anniversary in India with the release of the 'Amazon India My Stamps' https://t.co/HiVKlv9FwB pic.twitter.com/hRMrmRXHLO
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) June 4, 2016
2. Beginnings
With internet making rapid strides, companies began looking to the Web as a new avenue for commerce. Amazon caught the attention of the people and within four months of operation, became popular. Beginning with books, due to the large worldwide market for literature and the enormous number of titles available in print, Bezos quickly added other items, such as, VHS tapes, DVDs, music CDs, software, video games, electronics, clothing, furniture, toys and even food items.
3. Name and logo
Bezos selected the brand name ‘Amazon’ for his company because it was a place that was ‘exotic and different’ just as he planned his store to be, he planned to make his store the biggest in the world and Amazon river, the biggest river in the world served as a perfect inspiration. Additionally, a name beginning with the alphabet ‘A’ was preferred due to the probability that it would enable the store to be at the top of any list which was alphabetized. Amazon’s logo features a curved arrow leading from A to Z, representing the variety of products that the company offers from A to Z, with the arrow shaped like a smile.
4. Strategy
Unlike its large competitors, such as Barnes and Noble and Borders, Amazon.com carried only 2000 titles in stock in its Seattle warehouse. With the process of buying and selling shifted to the internet from brick and mortar stores, orders through Amazon.com were placed directly to the wholesalers and publishers and it would just receive the products and ship them to the customers. As the cost of middlemen and other expenses related to brick and mortar stores were not applicable, Amazon.com began to offer deep discounts, to the delight of the customers. The website has become increasingly interactive with a lot of options added to satisfy the customer completely.
5. Amazon in India
Given the immense potential of India with over 1.2 billion people and with use of internet spreading among the people, Bezos remains bullish about India, a market he entered in 2013. Faced with fierce competition from India competitors such as Flipkart and Snapdeal, Amazon recently announced to invest an additional $3 billion to take its investment in India to over $5 billion, a clear sign that it considers India as the next biggest market after the US, which will fuel its growth. Unlike China, where Amazon has struggled to make inroads, India is a much more accessible market for Amazon and the revenue for e-commerce is expected to touch $137 billion by 2020 according to Morgan Stanley. This explains Amazon’s interest in India.
Currently valued at $292.6 billion according to Forbes, Amazon has customers in over 100 countries and is truly a significant global player in the e-commerce industry.
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