Interesting Facts About Amazon

Technology & Electronics - Websites

By: wnxkitchenaid 24-Aug-2011

Introduction:

Most people have used or at least have heard about the site Amazon.com. Here are some interesting facts about the site you might not have known.

Was Originally Named Cadabra, Inc.

Amazon.com was founded in 1994 and the site went online in 1995. The company was originally named Cadabra, Inc., but the name was changed due to its similarity to "Cadaver". It's current name was chosen because the Amazon River is one of the largest rivers in the world and so the name suggests large in size. The name was also chosen in part because it starts with "A" and therefore would show up near the beginning of alphabetical lists - believe it or not, back in the day when Yahoo was king of the search engines, results on one page were listed alphabetically. A name beginning with "A" meant they would usually be on the top of the list. Thank God for Google, right?

Meaning of the Logo

Amazon.com has a very recognizable logo, but have you ever wondered if it has any meaning? You might have thought that it looks like a smile, which is partly correct (the smile represents customer satisfaction). But if you look closer you'll see its actually an arrow going from the "A" to the "z," representing that you can buy anything from A to Z on Amazon.com. A goal was to have every product in the alphabet.

Suit With Barnes & Noble

On 12 May 1997, Barnes & Noble filed a suit alleging that Amazon's claim to be "The world's largest bookstore" was false. They asserted Amazon as not being a bookstore at all, rather a book broker. The suit was later settled out of court and Amazon still continues to call itself "The world's largest bookstore."

Ownership and Involvement With Other Companies

Audible.com, Zappos, Shelfari, Alexa, IMDB, and a slew of other widely recognized brands are in fact owned by Amazon. Amazon.com also powers and operates retail web sites for Target, Sears Canada, Benefit Cosmetics, bebe Stores, Timex, Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, and Lacoste.

Almost Tanked

In 2001, Amazon reported a fiscal loss of $1.4 billion, and had laid off over 200 workers in the last year. With more layoffs in the beginning of 2001, the founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, came up with a new idea of recruiting other companies to sell their products online through Amazon. Companies like Old Navy, Target, and Toys R Us agreed to sell their items through Amazon. Amazon would not have to worry about inventory while still getting part of the sales - a win-win for all sides. Amazon recovered and remains one of the most popular online vendors in the world.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully now you know more than you did about the website you go to buy just about anything you want.

Supporting Links

Amazon Wiki Page

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Comments

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dptstretch 6/24/2012
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Nice, well written article. I enjoy Amazon and usually don't shop anyplace else once I've found what I am looking for. I even buy music more often from Amazon than from iTunes now. If I find something I want at Target or Walmart, I'll sometimes price compare...not regularly, but sometimes.
clewand550 1/13/2012
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I just learned some new things from this article. Thanks for sharing.
TigerStripes 9/16/2011
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Interesting stuff!