Jeff Bezos and Amazon – A Business alliance Worth watch
In his recent book, “The Fourth Big Thing,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos explains why he is a “book lover” and reads books so often. He quotes approvingly the phrases, “books are good, they keep you informed.” And, “they enliven me.” Amazon is an online retail platform run by an ecommerce giant, Jeff Bezos.
We live in a culture that praises change, but few people believe in the power of the life force. So when Jeff Bezo arrives on the scene, all the skeptics who dismissed the internet as nothing special to come out with sashes of hands, “hail to the man” ornaments. But the man himself delivers a compelling and readable argument that reading books gives you a “life experience.” In other words, you get to escape the boring daily routine.
One cannot help being impressed by such a small company whose size belies its incredible potential. At first blush, Amazon looks like just another high-tech entrepreneur. It sells books, more or less. Its Web site boasts a wide selection of books, with millions of titles available at any given time. Its e-book store has more than a petite collection of books – it has books by Tom Clancy, Harry Potter, and Twilight sagas. Its customers get to choose from the latest releases, and have access to a library consisting of more than two billion books.
If you want to get a feel for what Jeff Bezo is all about, take a look at his book tour and get a glimpse of what type of audience he tends to attract. A majority of the book tours are targeted to authors who are relatively new to the publishing game. Jeff Bezos is no exception; his tour last year included authors such as former New Republic editor Ben Bradlee and National Review writer George Will. These two authors, along with several others, hope to tap into the huge and largely untapped market for nonfiction reference books and are hoping to use Amazon’s Web site and its massive brick and mortar retail presence to gain a foothold in the ever-expanding niche field of contemporary business literature.
Readers who buy from Amazon will not only gain access to a great many new books, but they will also be able to read many popular old favorites. As Amazon has expanded into other areas of the retail world, one can be assured that their books will be found wherever people are shopping. That is why, for example, just walking down the aisle of a Borders Books store could mean a variety of reading selections for a customer. What’s more, it is much more convenient for customers to order books this way than it would be to drive to a retail store, purchase a book and then drive back home. For these reasons, readers should consider purchasing books through the Amazon Web site and also considering reading books from other sources on their own.
One day, Amazon may rival the largest bookstore in the world, which is The Barnes & Noble chain. At present, however, there appears to be little competition between the two companies. If nothing else, Amazon seems to be the place to look if someone needs to buy just one book. The company does not seem to have any other intentions for its online retailing business other than to expand its customer base. Given its tremendous success, and the huge potential it represents, there appears to be no reason why Amazon cannot become as large as the company it is today.
