Overview Amazon.com started in the mid 1990s as an online bookselling venture and then quickly morphed into a retail supercenter, selling all types of products. The company has faced much adversity and growing pains along the way, and had a difficult time turning a profit for many years. However, it appears as though they have turned the corner in recent years and now have become very successful as a result of founder Jeff Bezos’ vision and sound business plan for the company. They must continue to increase their edge in innovations and ideas to stay ahead of the competition.

Strengths Amazon.com has many different strengths, as is made apparent by the success they have seen. Their cost leadership strategy, producing products with a lower cost than competitors, has been evident from the company’s inception. Amazon.com sought to gain market share by providing products and services at a much lower rate, sometimes at the expense of their profit margin. This proved to be a wise idea and a top strength of the company as it pressured the competition and ultimately put many brick and mortar stores out of business. Another strength was Amazon.com’s first mover advantage. Amazon.com got into the business of online selling very early, at a time when retail stores were very prominent and seen as primary means for consumers to purchase products. Amazon.com quickly gained loyal customers and continued to exploit this advantage since other companies had so much ground to make up. Strategic acquisitions have also been a strength for Amazon.com. They have purchased many firms that have in turn provided new products, services, capabilities, assets and skills to the company. One example of a successful acquisition was the Kindle. Amazon.com acquired the company that created this product and therefore was able to produce and sell this wildly popular product.