Amazon.com, 2021 (Spanish version)

Description

In January 2019, Amazon.com Inc (Amazon) became the most valuable company in the world, above Microsoft, Apple, and Alphabet (Google). Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO was now the world's richest man. On January 31st, 2019, Amazon announced 2018 operating profits of $12.4 billion, up from $178 million in 2014, on sales of $232 billion, up from $89 billion four years earlier. The shareholders expressed their satisfaction, but not all were happy with Amazon's meteoric rise. Many traditional retailers in the United States were going bankrupt, while major competitors such as Walmart and Best Buy were forced to invest aggressively in online retailing to prevent their market share from eroding. Every retail sector appeared to be under threat, fueling anxieties that Amazon and America's other tech giants were becoming too big and powerful. In the United States, Amazon was drawing criticism from across the political spectrum, with calls for it to be broken up. Meanwhile, the European Union was also investigating its practices. Did Amazon's success threaten its very existence?

Related Documents

• Amazon.com, 2016, Teaching Note

Keywords

Applications Business & government relations Business growth Business history Business Models Competition Competitive Strategy corporate social responsibility Corporate strategy Customer satisfaction Databases Distribution channels Expansion Globalization strategies Goals Growth strategy Hiring & employment Human capital Infrastructure International business Internet Internet marketing Management Marketing strategy Mobile devices Multinational corporations Online media Order processing Platforms Resignations Retail Revenues Smartphones Strategic analysis Strategy Taxation Termination Working conditions