Publications
Publications
- August 2015 (Revised October 2019)
- HBS Case Collection
Amazon.com, 2019
By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin
Abstract
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?
Keywords
Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; Amazonfresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Market Platforms; Two-sided Platforms; Competition; Internet; Corporate Strategy; Online Advertising; Business Growth And Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, And Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms And Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation And Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business Or Company Management; Goals And Objectives; Growth And Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices And Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking And Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-life Balance; Problems And Challenges; Labor And Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Hardware; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Price; Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus And Relationships; Customer Value And Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment And Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures And Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, Us); Seattle
Citation
Wells, John R., Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth, and Galen Danskin. "Amazon.com, 2019." Harvard Business School Case 716-402, August 2015. (Revised October 2019.)
About The Author
