Since founding Amazon in 1994, CEO Jeff Bezos has run his company according to an unconventional set of core principles: don’t worry about competitors, don’t worry about making money for shareholders, and don’t worry about the short term. Focus on the customers, and everything else will fall into place.
Bezos broke all the rules when he built Amazon. In doing so, he carved out a unique way of looking at the world, at companies, and at tech in general. And nowhere is Bezos’ philosophy of business, technology, and leadership better articulated than in his annual shareholder letters, which he has written every year since the company’s initial public offering in 1997.
This is an excerpt from the article here which contains access to all the shareholder letters that Mr.Bezos had written to the Amazon shareholders.
Let us use this thread to share and discuss all the interesting and inspiring stuff about Amazon, which is currently one of the most valuable companies in the world.
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I’ve always seen Amazon as the modern version of the East India Company, even better actually because it doesn’t need to shoot a bullet to do so (atleast until now). At this point it seems it can do no wrong if it tried. My favorite angles of the Amazon’s story are AWS and Amazon Prime membership, two of the deepest moats ever seen in Business history.
The difference these two images is that one of these companies can actually afford to fight on all fronts. I wonder which?
AWS being the holy cashcow of Amazon subsidizes all its other business divisions, which then allows it to do business at cost or below cost in other areas. It doesn’t have to care if Amazon Music makes any money, Spotify will have to at some point. Netflix has to focus on creating consistent content on its revenue-based budgets. Prime video can write cheque after cheque buying other production companies which it is doing at this moment. Having such a Goldmine of a subsidizing entity in AWS is almost like running your business like government does (efficient one)
Another out of the stadium six would be Prime Membership. Everybody is focused on superapps but the retention provided by Apps is nothing as compared to Prime programme. You join for the discount, you stay for everything else. And it is very difficult to leave because of the value at offer. Music, Movies, Payment, Books, Faster delivery, cheaper than any other retail, future services which will be added into it such as gaming, travel and credit. There is no stopping prime.
Unlike other FAANGs, Amazon knows its size and throws it around everyday. Its knows exactly what its doing and has no qualms about being too big. The only risk that currently stands is that maybe the regulators would declare it a monopolistic business and split its divisions. But Amazon is buying politicians in every country and keeping them very happy, so even that is less likely.
Excited to watch this company play out its story as the decades go.
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I remember
I remember something similar happening in US
Reliance is the Desi version of East India Company. Like Amazon’s AWS Reliance has Petrochemical to subsidise other businesses
I don’t know what makes you say this. But their innovation and customer service is unparalleled.
