2.2 B2C Platforms

2.2.1 About Amazon

Amazon（Figure 2-4）was founded by Jeff Bezos from his garage in Bellevue，Washington，on July 5，1994.Initially an online marketplace for books，it has expanded into a multitude of product categories：a strategy that has earned it the moniker - The Everything Store.

Amazon is guided by four principles：customer obsession rather than competitor focus，passion for invention，commitment to operational excellence and long-term thinking.Amazon strives to be Earth's most customer-centric company，Earth's best employer and Earth's safest place to work.

Reading Materials

2020 Letter to Shareholders

To our shareowners：

In Amazon's 1997 letter to shareholders，our first，I talked about our hope to create an ＂enduring franchise＂，one that would reinvent what it means to serve customers by unlocking the Internet's power.I noted that Amazon had grown from having 158 employees to 614，and that we had surpassed 1.5 million customer accounts.We had just gone public at a split-adjusted stock price of $1.50 per share.I wrote that it was Day 1.

We've come a long way since then，and we are working harder than ever to serve and delight customers.Last year，we hired 500000 employees and now directly employ 1.3 million people around the world.We have more than 200 million Prime members worldwide.Мore than 1.9 million small and mediumsized businesses sell in our store，and they make up close to 60% of our retail sales.Customers have connected more than 100 million smart home devices to Alexa.Amazon Web Services serves millions of customers and ended 2020 with a $50 billion annualized run rate.In 1997，we hadn't invented Prime，Мa(chǎn)rketplace，Alexa or AWS.They weren't even ideas then，and none was preordained.We took great risk with each one and put sweat and ingenuity into each one.

Along the way，we've created $1.6 trillion of wealth for shareowners.Who are they？ Your Chair is one，and my Amazon shares have made me wealthy.But more than 7/8ths of the shares，representing $1.4 trillion of wealth creation，are owned by others.Who are they？ They're pension funds，universities and 401（k）s，and they're Мa(chǎn)ry and Larry.

I am approached with similar stories all the time.I know people who've used their Amazon money for college，for emergencies，for houses，for vacations，to start their own business，for charity - and the list goes on.I'm proud of the wealth we've created for shareowners.It's significant，and it improves their lives.But I also know something else：it's not the largest part of the value we've created.

…

To all of you：be kind，be original，create more than you consume，and never，never，never let the universe smooth you into your surroundings.It remains Day 1.

Sincerely，

Jeffrey P.Bezos

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Amazon.com，Inc.

（sources from www.amazon.com； en.wikipedia org.）