http://www.sweetbakerybaltimore.com/ – This is a link to Sweet Bakery in Baltimore. I this the color scheme of this website. I also like the way that the site is set up and organized.
http://www.billysbakerynyc.com/ – This is a link to Billys Bakery in New York City. The colors of this site are very simple but work well. I like how it displays the pictures of the products.
http://www.cinderellacakes.com/ – This is a link to Cinderella Cakes. I like how the pictures change on the main page. It also has bakery updates for the customers.
http://www.farinellabakery.com/ – This is a link to Farinella Bakery in New York. The theme and layout of this website is simple but easy for customers to navigate.
Jeff Bezos is the founder, president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and chairman of amazon.com
Amazon Logo
Background
Bezos presenting Amazon Kindle
Jeffery Bezos showed an interest in science and engineering during his youth and took classes at the University of Florida during high school. Later, he studied at Princeton University and earned a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. After graduation, he worked on Wall Street and was eventually was employed by Bankers Trust and D.E. Shaw & Co. In 1995, he opened Amazon.com which has become the largest online retail store and made Bezos a Billionaire. In 1999, he was awarded the Time Magazine Person of the Year Award.
Expansion of Amazon.com On July 16th, 1995, Bezos opened Amazon.com (at this point, only selling books) and, by September, the website took in sales of over $20,000 a week. The website gain popularity through the innovations of customer reviews, one click shopping, and email order verification. In 1997, the company went public and soon became a major competitor with the traditional booksellers, Borders and Barnes and Noble.
Bezos’ business strategy is based on the principle of “increasing the market share” as quickly as possible and stressing “The Six Core Values”.
Customer obsession
Ownership
Bias for action
Frugality
High hiring bar and innovation
Amazon quickly transitioned from exclusively selling books to selling music, electronics, video, and more. In 2002, they formed a clothing department by creating partnerships with major retailers such as the Gap. By 2006, the company boasted sales of over 10.7 billion a year.
New Prospects
2011 Amazon Kindle DX
In 2007, Bezos introduced a handheld e-reading device called the Kindle. Unlike other portable devices, the Kindle is not back lit and uses “E Ink” technology as not to strain the customer’s eyes when reading text over an extended period of time. The device accommodates adjustable text size and wireless internet connectivity so the user can download and store titles. In the related YouTube clip, Bezos explains how the Kindle only plays a small part in his vision of a new reading experience. He institutes a structure in which Amazon will provide content that can be read across a myriad of platforms including cell phones, laptops, tablet computers, and the Kindle to cater to the consumer’s active life.
When introduced, the Kindle took hold of 95 percent of the market for E-books. Now, Kindle faces competition from the iPad and Nook platforms. Bezos responded by competitively cutting the price and adding features such as 3G mobile technology, faster processers, and longer battery life.
Recently, Amazon signed a deal with the Wylie Agengy which gave Amazon direct rights to certain work by their represented authors. This deal bypasses the role of publishers and allows books to be sold and a much lower price. While many argue that this deal undercuts royalty rights for authors, publishers, and copyright holders,
Bezos argues that E-books and E-readers have revitalized the literature industry and the increase in literature sales will compensate.
Differential Pricing In 2000, Amazon was accused of price discrimination when customers received different prices based on the presence of cookies that indicated how frequently they visited the site. Frequent customers received lower prices once they deleted cookies which showed Amazon’s perusal of new customers. Bezos apologized for
the controversy, reimbursed customers, and stated that Amazon would “never… test prices based on customer demographics”.
Sales Tax Amazon has received criticism for having an advantage over local book and goods sellers by not collecting sales tax from customers who live in territories in which Amazon does not have a physical presence and consequently offering lower prices.
Kindle Remote Content Removal In 2009, Amazon deleted certain titles violating US copyright law from costumer’s kindles without notification and permission from the customers. The E-books were originally sold by an Australian Publisher (a region in which the titles had fallen into public domain). However, when the titles were electronically sold in America, the regional copyright did not extend, and had to be taken down. The customers eventually received a rebate but the event brings up the question of if companies can revoke digital material.
Also, Amazon has been known to remove ‘inappropriate’ texts from user’s Kindles. While this decision is usually justified, there have been instances where arguably appropriate texts have been taken away only to be reinstated.
Totally Tech! 