When I heard the story of Tony Hsieh’s tragic passing, the meaninglessness of the tragedy struck me deep. The death not only cut short his young life but also culled the dynamism of his ideas and a promise of a better future. I did not know Mr. Hsieh, but many whom I respect knew him and held him in high regard. Om Malik wrote a beautiful, heartfelt essay on what Tony Hsieh meant to people pursuing their ideas. I will write about the brilliance of Zappos, which was perhaps the biggest e-commerce acquisition of Amazon (1.2 billion USD in 2009), the first of their billion-dollar acquisitions. Zappos was not a run of the mill internet retailer. It was a strikingly…
Leave a CommentTag: E-commerce
I have desisted from posting my Covid notes, as the days grew grim and the world is inundated with desperation. Stay well, dear reader.
Instead, I will write about Shipping. The pressure of online orders during the pandemic finally got to the more efficient e-commerce firm in the US: Amazon. WSJ reports that Amazon will be suspending its delivery service, Amazon Shipping, which was created as a competitor to FedEx and UPS to ship items from third party businesses to their customers. I argue why.
Leave a CommentEvery one is worried that monopolies are getting large. FTC is worried too.
This is not a post on Facebook and Instagram, or another commonly directed invective at the Amazon, YouTube and other platforms that are pervading our lives. After a long lull, FTC has decided that they need to step in and prevent the most pernicious monopoly that has cut many people: Razor Blades. Also, not in the way you think.
I write about things FTC got right, and what they got wrong, in their unanimous decision to sue to block the Edgewell-Harry’s merger.
I look at Casper Operations from their S1 reports. Casper has a great product but it suffers from the problem of selling a durable good in a competitive market with many vertically differentiated brands. Plus, returns in the DTC channel are a huge problem. That problem is not going away.
Leave a CommentSupply chain duels, like wars of conflict, are now increasingly global. Walmart and Amazon are entrenched in a long fight to win over e-commerce market in India.
It has been about 16 months from when Walmart acquired Flipkart to make inroads into India. Now, Walmart in India is making a pivot to B2B.
Leave a CommentAn economy that has grown beyond belief is the e-commerce delivery market in China. It has become so central to modern Chinese life that the “food-delivery” has been dubbed as one of the 4 great inventions of modern Chinese civilization. For instance, Luckin Coffee (second only to Starbucks in China) has grown on the legs of its delivery business. No other product, not even pizza, exemplifies the need for exceptionally fast delivery need than hot coffee. […]
Leave a CommentIt was not Amazon that killed Toys ‘R’ Us. This is evident from their debt data, and also by a comparison with Target, which was also collaborating with Amazon then. Private investors chortled Toys ‘R’ Us — without focus on e-commerce efficiency or on customers — sending it south, even as Amazon was hurtling north.
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