Amazon (Jeff Bezos, CEO)  is now my natural place to shop for books. My guess is that the same is true for many customers around the world, now not only for books, but for music, videos, games, shoes, and a range of other household and automotive products.   Amazon is now a sales channel for myriad other sellers and is increasingly offering web-based sales and delivery services to other companies. It has launched the Kindle e-reader, bidding for leadership in the emerging market for electronic books and periodicals.  One of the great success stories of the internet generation, Amazon would have to be most people’s nominee for the world’s most successful on-line retailer.

According to the Forbes 200o lisitng, Amazon is now the second largest public-company retailer in the world by market value, behind only Wal-Mart.   In terms of sales, it’s the 11th largest retailer in the world among public companies.    The company ranks 43rd on Interbrand’s list of the world’s most valuable brands.

Amzon’s market value as of the Forbes listing was $56  billion, its sales $24.5 billion, and its profits $900 million.  It made $299 million in the first quarter of 2010, on sales up 46% from the prior year quarter.

Last November, Amazon aquired Zappo’s, an online sales and cultural sensation dealing in shoes and clothing.   Founded by Tony Hsieh,  Zappo’s has become famous for its great customer service and fun-loving, people-centric internal culture.

Zappo’s now-famous core values are:

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Wierdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Amazon itself says on its website:

“We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers.”

In his 2009 shareholder letter, Bezos refreshes the commitment s the company to “obsess over customers.”   The description of the company’s goal setting process (“452 goals”) makes the customer-centric focus clear:

“A review of our current goals reveals some interesting statistics:

- 360 of the 452 goals will have a direct impact on customer experienc.

- The word revenue is used eight times and free cash flow is used only four times.

- In the 452 goals, the terms net income, gross profit or margin, and operating profit are not used once.

Amazon started in the U.S., but now includes sites for Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Japan and China.   Sales outside North America are now 48% of the total, but as the geographic list makes clear, there are many markets that Amazon hasn’t attempted to serve yet.

I’m looking forward to watching Amazon for signs of the future in customer-focused retailing, on-line marketplaces, and the digitization of everything we read.   In these arenas, it will be fascinating to see how Amazon interplays with the likes of Google and Apple.

The growing list of Interesting Communities of Leadership is athttp://lovingwork.org/interesting-communities-of-leadership

Scott is scott@lovingwork.org and @scottdowns3 on Twitter.

Amazon · business · community · culture · customers · leadership · people · service · values

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