How Did Amazon Reach Its Prime?
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HOW DID AMAZON REACH ITS PRIME?
Mary Serene Carino
Brad Stone, Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire (2021).
I. INTRODUCTION
Amazon, Inc., (Amazon) has singlehandedly changed consumer behavior in e-
commerce. Once located in a garage, Jeff Bezos' empire has become a global phenomenon.
Amazon is currently worth $1.65 trillion and employs 1.3 million people (p. 1).I During its
early days, Amazon was able to accelerate its growth by creating fulfillment centers, computing
infrastructure known as the Amazon Web Services, and introducing Kindle in the e-book
market (p. 9). Bezos has investments in every industry, including personally purchasing the
Washington Post for $250 million, creating Amazon Web Services and Alexa, acquiring Whole
Foods for $13.7 billion, venturing into Hollywood vis-a vis Amazon Prime as well as pursuing
his personal space passion project, Blue Origin.2 Bezos' most recent venture is building a
superyacht that will be the world's largest sailing vessel, set to be completed in 2022 (p. 348).3
While Bezos concedes that Amazon is not too big to fail, our society is run,
supplied, and controlled by Amazon and its founder (p.406). Amazon has positioned itself as
a one stop shop which makes it impossible to live a day absent from its impact. However, a key
question remains unanswered - is Bezos and his global empire propelling the world into an
exciting future or helping to blot out ... free enterprise itself? 4
In Amazon Unbound, Brad Stone provides an account of how a retail startup company
grew to become one of the most influential and feared entities in the global market. Stone aims
to show how seismic changes in Amazon over the past decade led to dramatic innovations, as
well as to missteps that turned public sentiment against its sharp-elbowed business practices
(p. 1).
This review addresses Amazon's extraordinary achievement in the technology space
and its omnipresence in different industries since its inception. Part II discusses the ways in
which the implementation of Bezos' leadership principles led to the steady rise of Amazon from
a small Seattle-based online bookstore to a worldwide household name. Part III examines
Amazon's unprecedented growth and its position as a global empire despite the COVID-19
pandemic. Part IV discusses the heightened scrutiny directed towards Amazon. Finally, Part V
evaluates whether the creation and growth of Amazon has benefitted society.
' Laura Woods, Jef Bezos Has Stepped Down as Amazon CEO. How Much Is the Iconic Billionaire Worth?,
YAHOO (July 8, 2021), https://www.yahoo.com/now/jeff-bezos-stepped-down-amazon-203700565.htm ([In
July 2021], Amazon stock continued to climb, achieving a market valuation of $1.7 trillion.).
2 See generally BRAD STONE, AMAZON UNBOUND: JEFF BEZOS AND THE INVENTION OF A GLOBAL EMPIRE (2021).
3 Joe Davis, Mast-er of the Universe? Jeff Bezos' £420m Sail-powered Superyacht that will have Three Masts
and Be the largest in the World is Glimpsed for First Time at Dutch Shipyard, THE GUARDIAN (Oct. 2021),
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10123135/Jeff-Bezos-420million-superyacht-glimpsed-time.html.
^ Charles Kaiser, Amazon Unbound Review: How Jeff Bezos Engulfed and Devoured Us All, THE GUARDIAN
(June 20, 2021), https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/06/amazon-unbound-review-jeff-bezos.
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How Did Amazon Reach Its Prime?
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