Description
This assignment is continuing from the Amazon Case.
Questions:
Given Amazon’s overall performance domestically and globally, the outbreak of COVID-19, and the company mission, vision, and strategic plan, what step should it take next?
Should Amazon continue global expansion into new markets? What should Amazon do with its less successful international operations?
The submission requirement:
1) Please submit using a Word document.
2) Minimum 3 pages maximum 5 pages.
3) Avoid plagiarism. It must be in your own word.
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W20834
AMAZON GOES GLOBAL 20201
Jing Li and Yong Li wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective
or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to
protect confidentiality.
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This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized, or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the
permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights
organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western
University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) cases@ivey.ca; www.iveycases.com. Our goal is to publish
materials of the highest quality; submit any errata to publishcases@ivey.ca.
Copyright © 2020, Ivey Business School Foundation
Version: 2020-10-15
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) evolved from a small Internet bookstore in 1995 to one of the largest online
retailers on the planet. With a brand equity of US$220 billion,2 Amazon was the most-valued brand in 2019,
overtaking the likes of Apple and Google.3 Known as the company with the widest selection globally, it
expanded its offerings from books to groceries, apparel, media content, e-book readers (the Kindle), cloud
computing, digital advertising, and a whole range of e-commerce product categories. Amazon’s revenue
increased from $511,000 in 1995 to more than $280.5 billion in 2019 (see Exhibit 1).
tC
Much of the company’s early success was owed to its direct-to-consumer online model. Online selling
offered customers large selection and convenience. Amazon kept its inventory to low quantities for
infrequently ordered products, incorporated third-party sellers into its inventory management, and owned
its smart logistical system, which reduced the inventory risk of typical brick-and-mortar companies.4 This
business model enabled the company to receive payment from customers before paying the suppliers for
goods, which helped Amazon create a negative operating cash flow cycle.5
No
In 1999, Time magazine recognized the company’s success in popularizing online shopping and named Jeff
Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO), “Person of the Year.”6 Bezos believed in a
long-term orientation in business development:
If you’re long-term oriented, customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned. In the short
term, that’s not always the case. We have other stakeholders, too—our employees, our vendors,
etc. We take it as an article of faith that if we put customers first, other stakeholders will also
benefit, as long as they are willing to take the long-term view . . . and a long-term approach is
essential for invention, because you’re going to have a lot of failures along the way.7
Do
As Amazon kept looking for ways to innovate in its business development, Bezos wrote to his shareholders
in 2018:
Amazon today remains a small player in global retail. We represent a low single-digit percentage
of the retail market, and there are much larger retailers in every country where we operate. And
that’s largely because nearly 90 per cent of retail remains offline, in brick-and-mortar stores. For
many years, we considered how we might serve customers in physical stores, but felt we needed
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first to invent something that would really delight customers in that environment. With Amazon
Go [a convenience store with no checkout], we had a clear vision. Get rid of the worst thing about
physical retail: checkout lines. No one likes to wait in line. Instead, we imagined a store where you
could walk in, pick up what you wanted, and leave.8
He also addressed the core philosophy behind the company’s success by giving the example of how Amazon
Web Services (AWS) was brought into the company’s portfolio of offerings:
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Much of what we build at AWS is based on listening to customers. It’s critical to ask customers
what they want, listen carefully to their answers, and figure out a plan to provide it thoughtfully
and quickly (speed matters in business!). No business could thrive without that kind of customer
obsession. But it’s also not enough. The biggest needle movers will be things that customers don’t
know to ask for. We must invent on their behalf. We have to tap into our own inner imagination
about what’s possible. AWS itself—as a whole—is an example. No one asked for AWS. No one.
Turns out the world was in fact ready and hungry for an offering like AWS but didn’t know it. We
had a hunch, followed our curiosity, took the necessary financial risks, and began building—
reworking, experimenting, and iterating countless times as we proceeded.9
Amazon’s international expansion was another key dimension of its growth. Its first foreign entry was into
the United Kingdom in 1998. By early 2020, Amazon had significant operating subsidiaries in more than
14 countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain, India, Brazil, Mexico,
Australia, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).10 Subsidiaries in some countries, such
as the United Kingdom and Japan, performed better than subsidiaries in other countries, such as China, in
which Amazon no longer had major operations by 2019, and Brazil.11
tC
With the eventful two decades of its operations, one could not stop but wonder: What would be Amazon’s
next step in its international expansion? Would the company focus on growing in existing markets or
pursuing new market opportunities? What lessons did it learn from its journey so far? In addition, how
would Amazon deal with the ramifications of unexpected global events such as the outbreak of the novel
coronavirus that caused COVID-19, which started late in 2019?
No
THE ONLINE RETAILING INDUSTRY
The online retailing industry grew rapidly as Internet use became more prevalent and consumers became
more familiar with the idea of online shopping. With the advent of PayPal, secure Internet payment systems
emerged in the marketplace and online purchasing was accepted as a safe and convenient method of
shopping.12 In 2018, there were 258 million digital shoppers in the United States. The online retailing
industry outperformed most brick-and-mortar retail stores in the United States13 and was expected to grow
quickly (see Exhibit 2).
Do
In 2019, the top five e-commerce companies worldwide were Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (Alibaba) with
16.2 per cent of the e-commerce market, Amazon with 15.1 per cent, JD.com Inc. (JD) with 10.8 per cent,
eBay Inc. with 3.5 per cent, and Walmart Inc. (Walmart) with 2.2 per cent (see Exhibits 3 and 4). Retail ecommerce sales globally increased from $1.3 trillion to $2.3 trillion from 2014 to 2017 and was projected
to reach $4.8 trillion by 2021.14 E-commerce sales were 10.2 per cent of global retail sales in 2017, and
were projected to rise to 17.7 per cent by 2021. In 2019, Amazon had 25.7 per cent of non-store-based retail
sales in the United States, with all its nearest competitors having a market share below 10 per cent each.15
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The major players’ market shares increased as they expanded product mix to reach a wider customer base.
For example, in addition to direct online merchandising, Amazon started a third-party seller marketplace.
When merchants sold to consumers through the Amazon website, Amazon received a commission on the
products and services sold. The gross margin on these items was thinner than that of direct sales by Amazon.
However, this model not only created a consistent shopping experience for customers but also dramatically
increased the number of products available on Amazon.16 According to Statista reports, the Marketplace
contributed 70.7 per cent of Amazon’s total sales in 2019.17
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Amazon faced an increasingly competitive environment. As online retailing was growing, the company
competed for market share against traditional retailers that had long-secured relationships with important
suppliers. Further, brick-and-mortar retailers such as Walmart had established a strong online presence of
their own over the preceding decade, posing a significant threat to the online retailers.18
AMAZON’S PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Amazon’s products were categorized into retail goods, consumer electronics, digital content, and AWS. As
reported by the company in 2019, its revenue composition included six components: online stores (50 per
cent of revenue), third-party seller services (19 per cent), AWS (12 per cent), physical stores (6 per cent),
subscription services (7 per cent), and others (6 per cent).19 In 2019, Amazon’s store directory included a
variety of offerings such as books and audible; video games and Twitch Prime (a subscription service for
gamers); music, movies, and TV shows; electronics, computers, and office; home, garden, pets, and tools;
groceries and the Whole Foods market; health and beauty; toys; clothing, shoes, and jewellery; sports and
outdoors; automotive and industrial.
tC
The products could be purchased in highly competitive global markets served by many companies.
According to 2018 data, Amazon’s retail rivals included Walmart, Alibaba, and JD, among others.20 While
Walmart’s prices were cheaper, the convenience of shopping online, along with a better stock of items, kept
Amazon’s sales growth higher.21 Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017, and by 2018, it had become the
fifth-largest seller of groceries in the United States, with 3.7 per cent market share of a $695 billion revenuegenerating industry.22
No
The core item in the consumer electronics category was the Amazon Kindle, first launched in 2007. The ebook reader allowed customers access to more than one million titles both for lower prices and without the
hassle of a bookshelf. While book prices had to take into account printing and distribution costs, e-books
were more affordable, with prices usually ranging from $0.99 to $9.99.23 Some of Amazon’s competitors
for the Kindle were Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Rakuten Kobo’s Kobo, Sony Reader, Apple iPad, Samsung
Galaxy, and Google Nexus. Digital content included initially e-books and MP3 files and then streaming
services. E-books formed a multi-billion-dollar category for Amazon and grew quickly.24 In 2018, Amazon
had 89 per cent of overall e-book sales and 42 per cent of book sales in the United States.25
Do
Amazon had a diversified portfolio of services. For $119 per year (increased from $79 per year in
2018),26Amazon offered an annual membership called Amazon Prime that provided U.S. members with
Amazon Prime Video, free two-day shipping on all eligible purchases, and discounted one-day shipping rates.
Amazon also offered U.S. members access to Amazon Prime Reading, a Kindle lending library that allowed
members to borrow one book per month for free with no due dates. Amazon Prime Video gave customers
access to unlimited streaming of television shows and films and access to subscription-based premium
channels.27 Some or most of Amazon Prime’s features were also available to subscribers in over 200
countries.28 Amazon Prime’s features were well-received by customers, with Amazon Prime Video gaining
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ground over competitors such as Netflix Inc. and Home Box Office Inc. (HBO). According to Bloomberg’s
report, Amazon had 100 million paid Amazon Prime subscriptions in 2018. About one-third (34 per cent) of
broadband users subscribed to Amazon Prime and took advantage of its streaming services.29
Bezos claimed that Amazon Prime was the most successful loyalty program of all time. To take advantage
of it, Amazon initiated programs around Amazon Prime subscribers, such as the Amazon Prime Day when
retailers provided deep discounts to customers on a wide range of product categories. In 2018, Amazon
generated $3.9 billion worth of sales on Amazon Prime Day. Another customer engagement tool at
Amazon’s disposal was its flagship artificial intelligence assistant, Alexa, capable of performing more than
50,000 skills, according to the company. Amazon, competing with Google and Apple in the same space,
had 40 per cent market share in the smart speaker market in 2019.30
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On the back end of the consumer business, Amazon also encouraged smaller businesses to sell their
products through Amazon’s global platform. The company built a portfolio of services around Fulfillment
by Amazon, Advertising Solutions, and Service Provider Network—all aimed at one single objective:
sharing the Amazon competitive edge with a small-scale business owner for a fee.31 This collaborative
mechanism incentivized small businesses to sell their products through Amazon, helping Amazon get a
larger market share of the online consumer base.
As of September 2019, 47.9 per cent of Amazon’s direct investments were made in the information
technology sector, followed by consumer discretionary (25.4 per cent) and communication services (18.3
per cent) sectors.32
tC
Amazon had recently ventured into new services such as health care and finance. It planned to partner with
the Bank of America Corporation to offer Amazon’s own lending service to its merchants. Through a
partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Amazon announced the formation
of Amazon Care in 2018. The service, which went live toward the end of 2019 with a pilot phase to Amazon
employees only, offered “both virtual and in-person care, with telemedicine via app [mobile application],
chat and remote video, as well as follow-up visits and prescription drug delivery directly at an employee’s
home or office.”33
Do
No
AWS provided a broad range of applications including cloud computing, storage, databases, networking,
analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Some of the web services included Amazon Simple
Storage Service (launched in 2006) and Amazon Glacier (launched in 2012). According to the Amazon
website, AWS global infrastructure locations included North America (the United States and Canada);
South America (Brazil); Europe, Middle East, and Africa (Ireland, Germany, the United Kingdom, France,
Sweden, and Bahrain); and Asia Pacific (Singapore, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, and Hong
Kong).34 According to Canalys Cloud Channels Analysis, by 2019, Amazon had a dominant lead over its
competitors in the $107.1 billion global cloud infrastructure market, with a 34.6 per cent market share, far
ahead of Amazon’s nearest competitors, Microsoft Azure (18.1 per cent), Google Cloud (6.2 per cent), and
Alibaba Cloud (5.2 per cent).35
GLOBAL EXPANSION
When Bezos first started working on his business plan, he came across a report that estimated annual
Internet growth at 2,300 per cent in 1994.36 As a result, Bezos compiled a list of 20 products that could be
traded online, and he started Amazon. The products he chose were CDs (or compact discs), computer
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hardware, computer software, videos, and, most importantly, books. With the success of online book
selling, Amazon started to expand internationally.
Its first international entry was to the United Kingdom in 1998, followed by Germany, France, and Japan
(see Exhibit 5). By 2012, Amazon’s international sales experienced 23 per cent growth over 2011 and
accounted for 43 per cent of the company’s total sales. By 2019, the North American market contributed
60.9 per cent of Amazon’s revenues, but international sales reduced to 26.6 per cent, with AWS taking up
the remaining 12.5 per cent of the composition. The top three overseas markets were Germany, Japan, and
the United Kingdom (see Exhibit 1).
Amazon UK
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In October 1998, Amazon acquired Britain’s largest online book retailer, Bookpages.co.uk. Books
accounted for Amazon’s main source of revenue and Amazon offered more than 1.4 million book titles in
the United Kingdom and United States in 1998.37 Amazon UK subsequently expanded its product and
service offering and experienced sales growth (see Exhibit 5).
Amazon stayed on top of the competitive U.K. market. Competitors included eBay and Tesco plc, a local
online retailer that had a larger variety of products, including clothing, groceries, electronics, and many
other categories.38 According to Euromonitor data, Amazon had been the leader in U.K. online sales for the
10 years ending in 2018, with the last reported market share of 30.8 per cent, followed by eBay with 11.2
per cent (see Exhibits 6–8).
tC
Amazon in Germany and France
In October 1998, Amazon acquired ABC Bucherdienst/Telebuch.de, a new but thriving online bookstore
in Germany, and created the website Amazon.de (Amazon Germany). Germany had one of the highest
portions of English-as-a-second-language speakers in the world.39
No
Amazon started in Germany selling books but soon expanded to selling DVDs (or digital video discs),
videos, and games, and to opening fulfillment and customer service centres.40 According to 2019 reports,
the German market remained the biggest international contributor to Amazon’s revenue with $22.2 billion
in sales. The company had 48.3 per cent of Germany’s online sales, with eBay as its nearest competitor
having 9.3 per cent (see Exhibits 6–8).
In August 2000, Amazon launched an online store in France. It similarly started by selling books, music,
CDs, DVDs, and videos to the global French-speaking market. Customers in other European countries could
also order from the site. Amazon France subsequently started a game store, the Marketplace, a consumer
electronics store, Amazon Prime, and Kindle services.41
Do
Over the five years ending in 2019, Amazon had consistently been at the top of e-commerce in France with
16.6 per cent market share in 2019, almost double that of its nearest competitor (see Exhibits 6–8).
Amazon Japan
In November 2000, Amazon launched Amazon.co.jp (Amazon Japan). Its initial plan was to offer 1.1
million titles in Japanese and 600,000 in English.42 With offices in Tokyo, a distribution centre roughly 20
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miles away in Ichikawa, and a customer service centre in Sapporo, Amazon Japan became the first website
in an Asian language and the fourth international store for Amazon. Prior to the entry, Japan was Amazon’s
largest export market, bringing annualized sales of $34 million.43
Competitive pricing, one of Amazon’s strengths, was challenging to extend to Japan.44 Japanese books were
inexpensive with the average paperback priced at $4.50. Legal restrictions prohibited deep discounts and
bypassing of the sales tax. As a result, prices for online selling remained about the same, with the addition
of extra shipping and handling costs. Amazon Japan was able to offer books in English at a bargain
compared with Japanese retailers; nevertheless, English language book sales represented only a small
fraction of the $9.3 billion book industry in Japan.45
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At the time, Japanese consumers still hesitated to use credit cards online. Some Internet book sellers
introduced a system of payment and delivery at convenience stores.46 Amazon chose to focus on customer
service to grow its customer base. Over 70 per cent of the population in Japan used the Internet. However,
approximately 99 per cent of the population comprehended website content only in the Japanese language.
Thus, Amazon developed a Unicode-enabled platform for its Japanese language site in collaboration with
Basis Technology Corp., a software service provider with expertise in Asian-language information
processing.47
While Japanese consumers enjoyed Western products and lifestyle, most goods were attached to their own
culture.48 After its launch, Amazon Japan quickly expanded beyond online book selling (see Exhibit 5). In
2005, Amazon Japan launched a new sports store, giving customers more than 100,000 sports items to
choose from and also access to a rewards program.49 In January 2010, the Amazon Kindle DX became
available in Japanese.50
tC
Amazon formed alliances and made acquisitions after its launch in Japan. In 2002, Amazon Japan and
Virgin Megastores Japan, an entertainment product retailer, announced the launch of Virginmega.co.jp,
powered by Amazon’s e-commerce platform, to increase the selection of media items.51 Shortly after the
tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, Amazon teamed up with the Red Cross in the relief efforts.52
No
Competition intensified after 2010. SoftBank Group Corp., with more than 29 million customers in Japan
in its mobile business, launched the SoftBank Bookstore in December 2010.53 Its biggest local competitor,
Rakuten Inc., was not only the largest Internet retailing company in Japan at that time but, by 2012, had
also became one of the largest players in the global market.54
Do
In 2018, Japan contributed $13.8 billion to Amazon’s total revenue. Amazon Japan had also opened a
fashion studio in Tokyo. According to Euromonitor, Amazon’s share in Japan’s $11 billion online retail
market for shoes and apparel stood at 15.5 per cent in 2017. Amazon’s investment in shoes and apparel,
along with hiring ex-Victoria Secret executive Christine Beauchamp as president of its fashion department,
was part of the global push to expand its position in clothing. Amazon added more than 1,000 brands in
2017 alone, the exception being some labels like Uniqlo that were concerned about Amazon obtaining the
label’s customer data, according to Tadashi Yanai, the chief executive of Uniqlo.55
Amazon was also licensed by HBO to stream HBO series through Amazon Prime in Japan without having
to pay additional fees, starting April 1, 2018.56 In 2019, Amazon continued to lead in e-commerce in Japan
with 26.9 per cent market share, ahead of Rakuten and SoftBank Group.57
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Amazon China
Amazon made its foray into China through the $75 million acquisition of Joyo.com Ltd. (Joyo) in August
2004. Founded in 2000, Joyo was then the largest Internet retailer of books, music, and videos in China.58
Amazon planned to combine Joyo’s experience in serving the Chinese market with Amazon’s expertise in
online retailing. Amazon’s management believed that the acquisition would help Amazon gain access to
one of the world’s biggest Internet markets.59
Amazon owned 100 per cent of Joyo, which was renamed Amazon.cn (Amazon China) in June 2007. Joyo had
increased the number of product offerings by 32-fold from 2004 to 2007, but it did not turn a profit. At that time,
Amazon reportedly stated that it took five to seven years for a new market to generate profits and it was willing
to wait as long as needed with its China operations, recognizing the potential of the Chinese market.60
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“The challenges involved are significant,” said Michael DeSimone, CEO of Borderfree Inc., a company
with expertise in assisting organizations to adapt e-commerce sites for new countries. “Culture is so
different. Language is so different. To really do business in those countries, you need to be on the ground.”
Julia Zhu, founder of Observer Solutions Ltd., a market research company that helped foreign companies
invest in e-commerce in China, noted that “the majority of Chinese consumers are unwilling to pay for ebooks at this stage.”61
At the time, many customers in China did not use credit cards and paid with cash when their purchase
arrived at their door. Alipay (later Ant Financial Services Group) and WeChat Pay, two mobile payment
services established in 2003 and 2005 by Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd., respectively, were yet to
become popular in China. But by 2017, according to a study by Tencent’s Penguin Intelligence, 92 per cent
of people in China’s top cities said that they used AliPay or WeChat Pay as their primary payment method.62
tC
Amazon’s signature product in the United States was its Kindle tablet and e-reader and the Kindle Store,
which debuted in September 2011. Amazon started a Kindle Store on its Chinese website in December
2012.63 However, due to regulatory barriers and complications in launching its cloud service,64 which was
required for customers to store and access the books they purchased, Amazon did not offer the Kindle Fire
or Kindle e-reader until June 2013.65
No
As Amazon tried to get its cloud service up and running in China, Dropbox Inc. and local competitors like
Alibaba’s Aliyun Computing Co. Ltd. (Alibaba Cloud) were competing intensively for market shares.66
Competition for online bookselling had also intensified. “[N]o company has built a profitable business in
China around e-books,” said Michael Clendenin, managing director of RedTech Advisors (China) Ltd., a
consulting firm that provided research for U.S. investors.67 China’s largest e-retailers relied primarily on
sales of clothing and electronics, with pirated e-books hampering prospective sales of legitimate e-books.68
Do
China experienced exploding growth of online transactions after 2003.69 Its online retailing industry posted
120 per cent compound annual growth from 2003 to 2011, higher than in any other country. Online retail
sales reached $120 billion in 2011 and surged to about $1.33 trillion in 2018, up 23.9 per cent from 2017,
according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, a government agency.70
Alibaba, founded in 1999, had launched its Taobao marketplace in 2003.71 In 2008, Alibaba launched
Tmall, a spin-off business-to-commerce marketplace that let businesses sell higher-end products. JD,
founded in 1998, took its first e-commerce marketplace online in 2004. Local competitors like Alibaba and
JD grew rapidly in late 2000s, while Amazon had limited localization of content and lacked popular
purchase features in China like group buying.72
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In the Chinese online retailing space, Amazon initially seemed to have an edge over domestic competitors
in logistics. The company had built 11 fulfillment centres in China by May 2012—more than Amazon’s
rivals—to ensure swift delivery of online purchases. These centres handled warehousing, inventory
management, and logistics. In comparison, Alibaba focused on hosting vendors and made use of local
delivery companies to help Alibaba offer lower prices.73
Amazon’s logistics advantage, however, was precarious. In May 2013, Alibaba followed Amazon’s lead
and launched China Smart Logistic Network, which was later renamed Cainiao Smart Logistics Network.
In 2019, Alibaba increased its equity stake in Cainiao to 63 per cent.74 Valued at $20 billion in 2018, Cainiao
was one of the largest unicorns in China.75 According to Alibaba reports, in 2019, Cainiao had parcel
network coverage in 220 countries and supply chain fulfillment service warehouses in Russia, France,
Spain, Malaysia, and Australia.76
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Like Amazon, JD used a business-to-consumer model and built its own logistics network to fulfill its orders.
By 2019, JD had built one of the largest fulfillment infrastructures of any e-commerce company in the
world; through its JD Logistics unit, JD could reach 99 per cent of the population in China and deliver more
than 90 per cent of orders in one day or less.77 “There’s no reason for a consumer to pick Amazon because
they’re not going to be able to ship things as fast as Tmall or JD,” Ker Zheng, marketing specialist at ecommerce consultancy Azoya, told Reuters.78
Amazon had a reputation in the early days of its China operation for being a site that would have legitimate
products and so was trusted by Chinese consumers. Chinese e-commerce players, however, had been taking
proactive measures to fight counterfeit goods. Amazon had also not been as aggressive on the marketing
front as some of its rivals, including Alibaba and JD, which had enticed customers through shopping
festivals, discount campaigns, and nation-wide red envelope promotions.79
No
tC
As of 2019, Alibaba had 42.7 per cent of the Chinese e-commerce market, and JD.com, 29.4 per cent, while
Amazon China was reported to have 0.2 per cent (see Exhibits 6–8). Amazon China was “a long-term
opportunity,” Amazon’s chief financial officer had said in October 2012. However, in April 2019, Amazon
notified its sellers that it would no longer operate its third-party online marketplace or provide seller services
on its Chinese website, Amazon.cn, as of July 18, 2019. Amazon said in a statement that it planned to
remain committed to China through its global stores, Kindle businesses, and web services.80
Amazon’s Increasing Presence in Europe
Amazon launched Amazon.it (Amazon Italy) in November 2010, which signalled the start of the company’s
second wave of global expansion since its entry into China in 2004. Amazon was able to make profits in the
Italian market by adopting the category expansion strategy: it reportedly offered “more categories than any of
its others has at launch, including more than two million Italian and foreign language books, more than
450,000 CDs and 120,000 DVDs as well as video games, music, consumer electronics, software and toys.”81
Do
In Spain, Amazon launched Amazon.es (Amazon Spain) in September 2011. In October 2011, Amazon
acquired BuyVip Srl to expand product categories and secure market share with an established customer
base. BuyVip was a fashion sales site based in Spain with its avenues in seven European Union countries.82
Amazon Spain offered a large variety of products such as books, CDs, DVDs, electronics products, games,
toys, watches, and small appliances. The company entered a phase of rapid international expansion, similar
to the period from 1998 to 2002, when it expanded into five new countries in five years, according to
Mayuresh Masurekar, an analyst at Collins Stewart.83
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By 2018, Amazon had expanded its presence in Europe by entering the markets in Austria, Netherlands,
and Turkey. According to Euromonitor data for 2019, Amazon was the leading online retail seller in Austria
with 17.9 per cent market share and Spain with 15.2 per cent.84
Amazon India
Amazon acquired a portal, Junglee.com, from two Indian entrepreneurs in early 2000, and in February
2012, it launched the site in India. The new site did not operate like Amazon’s previous launches: with
Junglee, customers could not buy directly from the site but were redirected to the sellers’ sites, including
Amazon.com.85 This marketplace approach allowed Amazon to bypass government rules prohibiting
foreign multi-brand retailers from operating in India.86
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In June 2013, Amazon launched Amazon.in (Amazon India), a marketplace that sold only books and
DVDs.87 India’s book market was growing at a rate of about 15 per cent per year. Flipkart, India’s top
online bookseller and Amazon’s local competitor, was set up by two former Amazon employees in 2007.
It had quickly expanded into mobile phones, appliances, music, and movies. In 2018, Walmart acquired 77
per cent of
