Comparing Two Businesses
James M. Gordon Strayer University BUS 302- Management Concepts Professor: Justin U. Harris Ph.D.
Assignment #1 Comparing Two Businesses
Authors Note James M. Gordon, Strayer University Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to James M. Gordon, E-mail: g2gretire@yahoo.com
Assignment #1
Comparing Two Similar Businesses
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) with a +$100 billion market capitalization is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and China. It may also launch websites in Netherlands, Sweden, and India. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994, and the site went online in 1995. It is named after the Amazon River, one of the largest rivers in the world. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, and toys. Amazon uses the internet as the sole method for selling goods to its consumers. Amazon's competitors, such as Barnes and Noble, and Borders use brick and mortar as their main distribution channel. This method of using many store fronts is extremely costly. Stores such as Borders and Barnes and Noble have very high overheads because they pay premium rents to be in central locations, and must pay salaries to sales representatives. Amazon does not share this same high overhead, which gives Amazon a competitive advantage. This advantage is a result of the fact that Amazon's business model allows for a central distribution center in an area where the rent is low. As a result, they are able to sell their products for a
Assignment #1 Comparing Two Businesses
Authors Note James M. Gordon, Strayer University Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to James M. Gordon, E-mail: g2gretire@yahoo.com
Assignment #1
Comparing Two Similar Businesses
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) with a +$100 billion market capitalization is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and China. It may also launch websites in Netherlands, Sweden, and India. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994, and the site went online in 1995. It is named after the Amazon River, one of the largest rivers in the world. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, and toys. Amazon uses the internet as the sole method for selling goods to its consumers. Amazon's competitors, such as Barnes and Noble, and Borders use brick and mortar as their main distribution channel. This method of using many store fronts is extremely costly. Stores such as Borders and Barnes and Noble have very high overheads because they pay premium rents to be in central locations, and must pay salaries to sales representatives. Amazon does not share this same high overhead, which gives Amazon a competitive advantage. This advantage is a result of the fact that Amazon's business model allows for a central distribution center in an area where the rent is low. As a result, they are able to sell their products for a
Cited: * http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/7/prweb8652866.htm * Borders Bankrupt: Ann Arbor bookstore chain to close nearly 200 stores, AnnArbor.com, February 16, 2010 * Porter, M (1985): Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining superior Performance N.Y. * Free Press Judges approves Borders ' liquidation, Detroit News, July 21, 2011 * http://dropshippingsuccess.com/blog/?p=9