AMAZON AND BORDERS

Comparison of Amazon.com and Borders Books



Table of Contents

Amazon.com3

History3

Core Businesses3

Management Approach4

Reasons for Amazon's Success5

Borders Books6

History6

Core Businesses7

Management Approach7

Reasons for Borders Books Unsuccessful Run8

References9

Comparison of Amazon.com and Borders Books

Amazon.com

History

Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, initially operating purely as an online book retailer. It was novel in its approach, in that it allowed consumers to read and write reviews on books before they decided to purchase.

Following a difficult period of trading in the 1990s, Amazon underwent some extensive cost-cutting in 2001, and refocused on becoming a portal, acting as the middleman between buyers and sellers. The company also launched Amazon auctions in order to compete with eBay. Amazon currently has websites operating in Austria, France, Canada, China, Japan, Germany, the UK, the US and Spain.

In 2007, Amazon launched Kindle in the US. This is an eBook reader with a difference, in that it allows readers to download books to their e-reader on-the-go by connecting to wireless mobile networks. This is a feature which is not offered by any of its competitors. Amazon has a history of growth through acquisition. In July 2009, Amazon purchased Zappos.com, a US-based online clothing and footwear retailer, for a reported US$847 million. In October 2008, Amazon also began selling clothing in the UK, stocking well-known brands such as Timberland, Versace and Nike.

Core Businesses

Amazon is an online shopping website with one of the largest product supplies online. Amazon is involved in selling products directly or providing a platform for selling a wide range of products. The company is named after the Amazon River, which is one of the largest rivers in the world. It started as an online book store, but soon diversified and started selling CDs, DVDs, videos, computer software etc. Amazon has established itself in a number of countries such as Italy, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan and United Kingdom. It also provides shipping facilities in many countries and charges for it.

Management Approach

Amazon widely believes in the approach called Bacwards working. They work backwards from the customer to the idea of the product instead of moving from an idea of the product towards the customer. With this approach, they can apply specific product decisions during the development of new features or products.

Amazon has managed to continue to grow in the US retail market due to its adaptability and changing online offering, which continues to attract more and more consumers. Amazon.com also achieves a great deal of its growth through the acquisition of smaller retailers. This saw the company join forces with audio book provider audible.com, the creator of the iPod Touch Lexcycle and iPhone application Stanza, which allows consumers to download e-books to read on their phones. In 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos.com, strengthening its clothing and footwear offering. 2010 saw Amazon once again achieving growth through acquisition, with the purchase of online “deal-a-day” site woot.com. Amazon plans to let Woot continue to operate independently. Woot has a specific operating model, in that it offers a deal each day, selling an item for ...