How Big is Amazon, Really?

BIG how is amazon.com? Amazon.com's name is well chosen. The word "Amazon" has come to mean large and powerful-and to say that this online company is big would be an understatement. From the number of markets it serves to the size of its inventory to the amount of fulfillment centers, most everything about Amazon.com is, well, BIG. Here's the big deal on the world's largest online retailer. Despite its notoriousy thin profit margins, Amazon's sales have still risen astronomically each year. Amazon has S0 fulfillment centers in the U.S. alone, Total sales V Total sales in 2012 = some with 12A, sq. ft. of in 2008 = 19.2 B floor space. 61.1 B More than twenty 20K thousand retailers currently sell Kindle devices. Amazon has operations in 12 markets besides the U.S. It has also partnered with retailers serving an additional 29 international markets. competitors, often for a loss, like it did with Diapers.com. Other times it prices out Amazon has a killer instindt when it comes to competitors. Oftentimes it acquires steep competition, like it did with Zappos in 2009. SSS Amazon's profits are so huge that it was originally willing to drop business online in multiple states that had disadvantageous sales tax laws, to avoid the Yet its employee retention rate is one of the worst among Fortune 500 companies. Why? government getting its piece of the pie. Employee stock options vest much slower. Also, new positions have 4X quadrupled in the past four years, making everyone feel like just another But the average salary for warehouse employees is less than a measly Amazon has even begun to develop its own original programming. Watch out, Netflix! Pay to the $24,000 order of: number. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, is a powerful entrepreneur as well as generous philanthropist. VF Vanity Fair named $33 BILLION Bezos #1 on its He's a giver, too, contributing to 2013 Power List. He sold 1M shares His 2013 net worth, of Amazon to offset which explains his diverse portfolio. various causes. the WP purchase. Bezos owns or has owned stakes in a rocket company, a 3-D priting company, and, as of October 2013, 8.5 million shares-about Information for this article was collected from the following sources: wp 18.5 percent ownership- of the Washington Post newspaper. http://www.businessweek.com/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2013/11/06/jeff-bezos-sells-1-million-amazon-shares-pocketing-over -250-million -after-washington-post-splurgel http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/amzn/financials http://seekingalpha.com/article/1047141-amazon-history-tells-us-that-shorts-will-be-rewarded http://techland.time.com/2011/03/09/five-rich-tech-titans-and-what-theyve-given-to-charity/slide/jeff-bezos/ brought to you by ACCOUNTING-DEGREE.ORG