Development of Amazons Strategies - Research Paper Example

 Anybody who loves reading books will affirm the rewarding experience of holding a book in one’s hands, opening it, and feeling the pages with the fingertips.

The e-book, however, offers another powerful experience. Able to hold numerous books in a tool as large as an average paperback, the e-book provides the expediency of gaining access to new books at home or irrespective of the location of a person. The lack of bookstores in one’s location is no longer an excuse for one not to buy the latest bestseller, thanks to the e-book. An e-book, also known as a digital book, an ebook, and eBook, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of English as “an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a personal computer or hand-held device designed specifically for this purpose.” (Noorhidawat and Gibb, 2010, p 3). Usually, e-books are read on hardware devices called e-readers.

An e-reader can be defined as a “professional carrier terminal for digital contents such as e-books, e-newspaper, and electronic documents. It is featured with the paper-like display technology and low power consumption. Presently, through Wi-Fi or operator network, users can directly download digital publishing contents for reading with e-readers” (Sherman, 2010, pp 3). Although e-books have been around for more than a decade, the developments in the e-book industry during the last 5-10 years have had the greatest impact on the Amazon Kindle business unit. One of the most significant developments in the industry was the ability of e-book readers to connect to high-speed data, an opportunity that saw the development of the Amazon Kindle and its subsequent launch in November 2007 with this feature.

CORPORATION & SBU BACKGROUND
The online retail market has captured the interest of numerous companies from all corners of the world, and the largest online merchant is undeniably Amazon.Inc. Amazon.Inc is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and is led by its founder Jeffrey P. Bezos, who is also the current Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President. The company’s Chief Financial Officer and SVP is Thomas Szkutak while the Vice President and CTO are Werner Vogels. Founded in 1994, the company has grown from just an online bookstore to an empire that sells a minimum of twelve distinctive business operations and interests. The most recognized business unit deals with books, specifically Kindle books. Another business unit is the ‘Movies, Music & Games’ operation that provides Movies & TV, Blu-ray, Video On Demand, Music, MP3 downloads, musical instruments, video games, and game downloads. The other distinctive business unit is the Computers & Office unit that provides laptops and netbooks, desktops and servers, computer components, computer accessories, software, personal computer games, printers & ink services, and office products and supplies (amazon.com, 2010).