Rainmaker wrote:
>
> At 11:53 AM 7/13/1998 -0700, Kathy E. Gill so eloquently stated:
> >from edupage:
> >> AMAZON MEANS BOOKS
> >> Only three years after making its first sale, online
> bookseller Amazon.com has become the third-biggest bookseller in
> the country. Founder Jeff Bezos says, "To be nine times bigger
> [on the Web] than your nearest competitor, you actually only have
> to be 10 percent better." A principal reason for Amazon's
> success has been advertising, and the company was at one point
> was spending $36 in marketing for every $100 in sales. But book
> publisher Peter Osnos explains: "Amazon brilliantly, and at
> great expense, has branded. When people think of ordering a book
> online, they think of Amazon. It's like Xerox. It's entered the language."
> >
> >(Washington Post 9 Jul 98)
> >http://www.washingtonpost.com/
> >
>
> And they still haven't made any money! Last week investors
> decided to take a hard look at their stock, which dropped 22% in
> one week.
George -- their stock jumped from 90-something to almost $130 in a
period of a 7-10 days! I don't know what made it bounce up, but I'll
call any move back toward $100 a **correction.**
Folks - it costs money to create a brand -- and in this marketplace,
the brand creation (mindshare) is incredibly important as a
barrier-to-entry for newcomers. This is where most of the "excess
operating expenses" lie ... for the quarter ending march 31 -- $19.5
million in marketing/sales expenses -- compared to a $8.2 million
operations loss.
They also continue to acquire other companies -- I've not seen the $
involved, but these investments could be sufficient to keep them from
turning a profit. Strategic losses are not an American norm -- but oculd
very well be their strategy.
If their board were worried, I believe we'd hear about it.
-------------
Kathy E. Gill
Business Process Information
425.234.2004 - 6X-JT
http://www.dotparagon.com/aboutgill.html
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -- Ghandi
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