Amazon is flourishing, and so is founder Jeff Bezos. The company’s shares have risen 54% since February this year, and that’s added $5.4 billion to Bezos wealth this year. This rise has helped him pip Warren Buffet to become the third richest man in the world.
20 years after revolutionising online shopping and digital services, Amazon’s venturing into a rather new territory. The company is building huge spherical buildings in Seattle, the home to the online retailer, which will house a variety of 3000+ endangered and exotic trees and plants. The spheres will be temperature controlled, acting as giant treehouses that will double up as venues for employee camps.
It’s trying times for e-commerce companies in India, and the tensions appear to be spilling over to social media. Amazon and Flipkart fans have traded allegations on Twitter over Flipkart stealing the show as Amazon tried to launch the Moto G4.
Amazon is a big company. So big that within Amazon, there are 2 other business units, who now have their own CEOs.
Amazon has promoted the leaders of its online retail site and cloud computing unit to the CEOs of their respective groups, making each of them more of a distinct business.
Women have broken through yet another traditionally male bastion. Amazon deliveryboys, which are now a ubiquitous sight in India as they zip and weave through traffic on their bikes, shall now just be boys any more. Amazon is piloting a project in Chennai and Kolkata in which women shall go around delivering packages
Amazon India has just announced that it suffered losses worth Rs. 1728 crore for the year ending March 2015. In comparison, Flipkart had announced losses of Rs. 2000 crore in the same period. Snapdeal’s losses stood at Rs. 1350 crore.
Amazon is experimenting with cycles to deliver last-mile orders. Orders under the radius of 3-5 km will be delivered through this mode. The delivery team would be provided with geared bikes to carry packages of up to 7.5 kg per trip.
In a recent company statement, Amazon claims to to be the largest marketplace in India in terms of products on offer. Amazon adds 50,000 products on the website everyday, the statement says. While the corresponding numbers for Flipkart and Snapdeal are unknown, it’s hard to say with authority if Amazon is indeed the biggest marketplace.
The biggest investor in Flipkart – Tiger Global Management – is reported to have picked up 2.44 million shares in Amazon, Flipkart’s biggest competitor. The move makes Amazon Tiger Global’s second-largest public holding company.
The festive season is in full swing, and Indian e-commerce giants are battling it out for a share of India’s online shopping pie. The 3 biggest players – Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal – are running simultaneous sales from 13th to 17th October, and marketing and promotions have been fierce.