Amazon.com, Inc. - Company Overview (1)

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Amazon.com, Inc.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
01
Company History & Origin Facts
02
Field of Activities
03
Structure & Ownership
04
Branches & Subsidiaries
05
Suggestions for Improvement
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Company History & Origin Facts

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Amazon's Humble Beginnings and the Stories Behind the Brand
Founded by Jeff Bezos in July 1994 and launched as an online bookstore in 1995. The
company's humble beginnings trace back to Bezos's garage in Bellevue, Washington,
where he and a small team packed books themselves.
THE NAME
Originally "Cadabra," changed after a lawyer misheard it as "cadaver." "Relentless" was
considered but rejected. "Amazon" was chosen from the dictionary — inspired by the world's
largest river.
"GET BIG FAST"
Early mantra printed on employee T-shirts. Bezos prioritized rapid growth over profits. First
profit recorded in 2003 — six years after the IPO.
DOOR DESKS
Bezos built desks from cheap recycled wooden doors to save money and signal frugal culture —
a tradition that continues symbolically today.
Recreation of Amazon's original garage workspace
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Field of Activities

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Amazon Operates a Diversified Global Technology Conglomerate Across Multiple Sectors
MAJOR PRODUCTS & SERVICES
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
E-commerce: Retail sales (1P) and third-party
• Unmatched logistical network enabling fast
• High dependence on third-party sellers from
marketplace (3P), ~60% of sales
delivery
China, vulnerable to tariffs
Physical Stores: Whole Foods Market, Amazon
• Dominant market share in cloud computing (AWS)
• Complex sprawling structure causing
Fresh, Amazon Go
• Massive customer data personalizing shopping
operational inefficiencies
Prime: 200M members (2023) — shipping + Video +
• Powerful "flywheel" between low prices, vast
• Recurring criticism over labor practices and
Music
selection, and Prime loyalty
market dominance
AWS: ~1/3 of cloud market
Devices: Kindle, Echo, Fire tablets
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Structure & Ownership

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Amazon's Corporate Structure Combines Public Ownership With a Complex Multi-Divisional Hierarchy
FORM OF OWNERSHIP
Amazon.com, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation organized under Delaware General
Corporation Law, listed on Nasdaq under ticker "AMZN". Share ownership is divided
among shareholders with limited liability for owners.
KEY BUSINESS DIVISIONS
Divis ion
Des cription
AWS
Most profitable division; global cloud services; $38B OpenAI
deal
Physical Stores
Whole Foods ($13.7B acquisition), Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go
Devices & Digital
Kindle, Alexa, Echo, and related content platforms
Advertising
Rapidly growing digital ad sales across the platform
International Operations: Dedicated websites and localized operations in over 20 countries including
Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, and India.
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Strategic Recommendations to Mitigate Vulnerabilities and Strengthen Corporate Culture
01
De-risk the Supply Chain
Accelerate diversification of the seller base beyond China to Vietnam, India,
and Mexico. Transform "Amazon Haul" from a reactive cost-cutting measure
into a proactive customer promise for supply chain resilience and ethical
sourcing.
02
Simplify the Organization
Break down internal silos between Retail and AWS divisions to create
seamless integrated products — such as truly intelligent, proactive shopping
agents.
03
Revamp Performance Culture
Prioritize "Day 1" employee well-being and psychological safety. Ensure
innovation comes from the entire workforce, not just a relentless grind at the
top.
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Thank You