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Amazon Goes Global
Amazon evolved from its start in the year 1995 up to 2013, evolving from an online bookstore that was small into the world’s largest online retailer. Apart from offering books in its operations, it changed to include electronics, DVDS, tools, toys, house appliances and wares, apparel as well as e-book readers to its users. Its revenues subsequently increased from US$ 511,000 to an outstanding US$ 61 Billion by the year 2012 (Amazon, 2016). Accreditation to the company’s growth and stature was directed towards the direct-to-consumer model of its business operations. With the online availability, customers were able to have a larger selection and with the much needed convenience. By creating the negative cash flow, the transfer of paying suppliers after the consumers had made the payments first enabled the company reduce any chances of losing its revenues as well as reducing inventory risk by strategizing on the locations and limiting the quantities.
With the prevalence in internet users in the world increasing, the online retailing industry recorded rapid growth as the consumers were becoming more familiar with making purchases on the online avenue. Through the emergence of PayPal, a secure payment system through the internet, safety and convenience became a mainstay in the marketplace for online shopping and purchases. When compared to most brick-and-mortar retail stores, more than a hundred million Americans were purchasing goods online in an annual measure (Amazon, 2016). The out performance of the online industry was destined to grow even further and quickly. In the developed nations, online retailing accounted for close to ten percent of all shopping and purchases according to most researches whilst Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, Apple and Rakuten made up 12.3%, 5.7%, 5.1%, 3.8%, 2.8% respectively (Li and Li, 2015). In the same year, the company’s sales accounted for 175 of the US e-commerce on the online auction market.
The company’s portfolio of goods and services were in various categories of retail goods, digital content and consumer electronics. The consumers could purchase their preferences on an online and offline format. Through the annual prizing of the company’s membership, more and more customers became akin to the company’s operations and their interests grew. The global expansion was categorical for the company as it targeted UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada and China. The growing presence in Europe by the company’s availability signaled the second wave of its global expansion through adoption of strategies for each nation and inclusion of the local derivatives per region (Li and Li, 2015). Thus, the local consumers drove the sales up as the online marketing and purchasing dimensions increased and created the much-needed impetus for the company’s rapid international expansion.
With
the launch and implementation of Junglee.com in India in 2012, the company’s global
expansion targeted more emerging markets. In this side of expansion, the
company made it possible for the consumers not to purchase from direct sales in
their stores, but directed them to the sites of sellers, which included Amazon.com
(Li and Li, 2015). The company also targeted other growing populous nations
like Brazil
in the process, thereby maximizing the potential in potential consumers in the numbers.
With the global launch and country-specific strategy, the company managed to
mitigate risks from any overdependence on the home market as well as any single
market in its portfolio. Both opportunities and challenges were faced for the
company especially with the inclusion of operations into mobile telephony. The next stop on its expansion is definitely
important.
References
Amazon. (2016). History &Timeline, Retrieved from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-corporateTimeline, accessed January 26, 2016.
Li, Y. & Li, J. (2015). Amazon goes global. Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, 9B14 M22.