How Japan's Biggest E-Commerce Company Plans To Take Over The World (AMZN, EBAY)
Japan hasn't had a single Internet company breakout to become a global success story.
Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of e-commerce site Rakuten, is hoping to change that.
He's gone on a shopping spree in the last few years to make it happen. He bought Buy.com in the U.S. for $250 million, Play.com from the UK for $38 million, and e-reader company, Kobo for $315 million. (There are other acquisitions, but the company was particularly excited about these three.)
To make all of these acquisitions work, Rakuten is forcing all of its employees in Japan, and elsewhere around the world to speak English. The idea is that one common language will united the company as it tries to expand internationally. It calls the program "Englishnization".
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Daily Disruption – Amazon Kindle: Special Report on How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon Kindle
Daily Disruption – Amazon Kindle: Special Report on How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon Kindle
The marketing experts at Digital Marketing Labs have produced a Special Report to help people learn how to publish a book on Amazon Kindle.
“Partnering with Amazon: How to Give Amazon Permission to Sell Your Products to their Over 275 Million Registered Buyers” is the Special Report on how to publish a book on Amazon Kindle, and the Digital Marketing Labs have published an article about the benefits of the report.
The article said it guides people through the methods used to not only get self-published, but drive traffic to other affiliated websites and develop a stature of authority and recognition.
The capabilities of Kindles and other e-readers have yet to peak, so the article said now is the time to learn the procedure and start cashing in. People are scooping up Kindles and other e-readers like crazy. With titles available at a fraction of the price of a hardcover or paperback, e-books have even begun to outsell traditional print books on Amazon.com.
The marketing experts at Digital Marketing Labs have produced a Special Report to help people learn how to publish a book on Amazon Kindle.
“Partnering with Amazon: How to Give Amazon Permission to Sell Your Products to their Over 275 Million Registered Buyers” is the Special Report on how to publish a book on Amazon Kindle, and the Digital Marketing Labs have published an article about the benefits of the report.
The article said it guides people through the methods used to not only get self-published, but drive traffic to other affiliated websites and develop a stature of authority and recognition.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Amazon.com Is the Secular Short Of 2012
Amazon.com Is the Secular Short Of 2012: I believe the market is underestimating the deteriorating underlying business trends, the impact of the secular shift of physical media to digital media along with the competition risk from Apple and Google, and the weak positioning of Amazon’s hardware tablet strategy.
Uneconomic Revenue Goosed by Free Shipping Subsidization
The bull case for Amazon has always been it will continue to grow at rapid rates for the next 3-5 years and if you put some decent operating margin on the out year, you will get fantastic earnings power. However the problem with this argument is the wheels are starting to fall off the wagon.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Amazon Takes On Publishing… Then The World
Amazon is moving into the book publishing industry, hiring former Time Warner Publishing CEO Larry Kirshbaum to head its new venture.
Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Brad Stone says the publishing industry is running scared.
“I think they’re terrified,” Stone told Here & Now‘s Robin Young. “Amazon is their biggest customer… and they’ve been at Amazon’s mercy for quite some time,” said Stone.
Stone’s cover story on Amazon recounts the bad blood between Amazon and the big six publishers that goes back to the launch of the Kindle. At that point, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced that New York Times bestsellers would go for $9.99 on the Kindle. The news shocked the publishers, who felt it would force all book prices down.
Meanwhile, Amazon is also eying a brick and mortar Amazon store and possibly launching a Kindle phone.
This is part of a trend in the business world where companies are creating entire ecosystems to sell their products, spurred by Apple’s dominance of tablets and phones.
“You’re Jeff Bezos sitting in Seattle, or Mark Zuckerberg in Menlo Park and you’re seeing potentially Apple circumvent you, they’re owning the next generation of devices,” Stone said. “And so all these companies are just scampering to keep up.”
Amazon’s e-books and Apple’s iTunes stores are examples of ways that industries are cutting out the middle men.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Planet Amazing Announces New Amazon.com Store with New Environmentally Friendly Products
The EPA has given Planet Amazing a safe rating for consumers due to the non-toxic nature of Planet Amazing products.
Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 03, 2012
"Planet Amazing is proud to have released to the public some great new products this month," says Justin Douglas or Planet Amazing Environmentally Friendly Products. "We are happy to be improving the environment we live in while at the same time we are dealing with real problems such as bed bugs, fire ants, animal care, garden and lawn health, pet health and pet grooming."
Mr. Douglas says that Planet Amazing has been working with scientists for many years to develop, locate and test safe, organic and non-toxic solutions. "Most of our products have been tested with organic farms, farmers of all types, environmental scientists, and even the U.S Navy."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/03/prweb9210778.DTL#ixzz1o9R4SIOA
Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 03, 2012
"Planet Amazing is proud to have released to the public some great new products this month," says Justin Douglas or Planet Amazing Environmentally Friendly Products. "We are happy to be improving the environment we live in while at the same time we are dealing with real problems such as bed bugs, fire ants, animal care, garden and lawn health, pet health and pet grooming."
Mr. Douglas says that Planet Amazing has been working with scientists for many years to develop, locate and test safe, organic and non-toxic solutions. "Most of our products have been tested with organic farms, farmers of all types, environmental scientists, and even the U.S Navy."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/03/prweb9210778.DTL#ixzz1o9R4SIOA
Kindle Fire Games reportedly Downloaded 1 Million Times In 3 Months
According to Kindle Fire game publisher G5 Entertainment, it’s games have already seen over a million downloads in the past three months, signaling a healthy growth for the platform. This was part of their recent report for the year 2011. The company states that their game downloads over various mobile platforms have increased five times in one year in the past year. Put together, their total number of downloads now stands at over 40 million!
Even though the Kindle was released only in November last year, it figures prominently in the publisher’s portfolio. It could not have impacted sales for the entire year but it definitely contributed significantly in this short time.
G5 Entertainment covers a wide variety of devices and platforms that include Android devices, the iPhone, the iPad as well as portable gaming consoles such as the Sony PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo DSi. The company also has titles on both the Mac and the PC.
Talking about an expansion across the two major mobile platforms, the company said that it plans to release 50 new games for iOS and Android devices (which includes the Kindle Fire). Popular games form its current list of titles include Mahjong Artifacts, Virtual City, Supermarket mania and more. According to the company, they collaborate with as many as 30 studios all across the world in order to bring these titles to the masses.
Even though the Kindle was released only in November last year, it figures prominently in the publisher’s portfolio. It could not have impacted sales for the entire year but it definitely contributed significantly in this short time.
G5 Entertainment covers a wide variety of devices and platforms that include Android devices, the iPhone, the iPad as well as portable gaming consoles such as the Sony PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo DSi. The company also has titles on both the Mac and the PC.
Talking about an expansion across the two major mobile platforms, the company said that it plans to release 50 new games for iOS and Android devices (which includes the Kindle Fire). Popular games form its current list of titles include Mahjong Artifacts, Virtual City, Supermarket mania and more. According to the company, they collaborate with as many as 30 studios all across the world in order to bring these titles to the masses.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
National Association of College Stores Resolves Amazon Litigation
"Amazon may change its advertising in 2012 and later years, and it would not serve the college store industry well if we were to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars litigating about advertisements that may no longer be used in the future," said NACS President Danny Key, CCR, Director of Bookstore Services at Wingate University, Wingate, NC.
The lawsuit arose because NACS filed a proceeding with the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division (NAD) complaining about Amazon's textbook price comparisons used in the 2011 spring semester. That advertising claimed students could save "up to 60%" on new textbooks, "up to 90%" on used textbooks, and that they could receive "up to 60%" on buy-back when dealing with Amazon.
Before the NAD could address whether Amazon's ads were substantiated, Amazon filed suit against NACS in federal court in Seattle seeking a judgment that its claims were neither false nor misleading under the federal Lanham Act. When Amazon filed its federal case, NAD decided not to consider the NACS complaint.
NACS sought to have the federal case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, but the court denied the motion.
As part of the settlement process, Amazon provided NACS' attorneys, on a confidential basis, with the methodology by which it substantiates its savings claims and the results of its substantiation. While not endorsing the substantiation methodology or the results obtained, NACS agreed that it was sufficient to determine that there is no current dispute about the advertising that NACS had questioned in its NAD complaint. As a consequence, NACS and Amazon agreed to settle the litigation with no money being exchanged and an agreement not to challenge each other about substantially similar claims for at least one year.
Truth in Advertising Paramount
NACS is pleased that it was able to resolve this case efficiently, and that it has brought to the forefront once again the need for all retailers, whether physical stores or on-line sellers, the need to substantiate the claims that they make in their advertising.
NACS is convinced that students receive the best value for their textbook-buying dollars by purchasing course materials, whether in print or online, in or through the college store. Whether the student wants a new physical book, a used book, a course-pack, a rental, or an electronic book, the college store offers a range of options at the best value, and it remains the most accessible, user-friendly option for college students, while also supporting higher education.
The lawsuit arose because NACS filed a proceeding with the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division (NAD) complaining about Amazon's textbook price comparisons used in the 2011 spring semester. That advertising claimed students could save "up to 60%" on new textbooks, "up to 90%" on used textbooks, and that they could receive "up to 60%" on buy-back when dealing with Amazon.
Before the NAD could address whether Amazon's ads were substantiated, Amazon filed suit against NACS in federal court in Seattle seeking a judgment that its claims were neither false nor misleading under the federal Lanham Act. When Amazon filed its federal case, NAD decided not to consider the NACS complaint.
NACS sought to have the federal case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, but the court denied the motion.
As part of the settlement process, Amazon provided NACS' attorneys, on a confidential basis, with the methodology by which it substantiates its savings claims and the results of its substantiation. While not endorsing the substantiation methodology or the results obtained, NACS agreed that it was sufficient to determine that there is no current dispute about the advertising that NACS had questioned in its NAD complaint. As a consequence, NACS and Amazon agreed to settle the litigation with no money being exchanged and an agreement not to challenge each other about substantially similar claims for at least one year.
Truth in Advertising Paramount
NACS is pleased that it was able to resolve this case efficiently, and that it has brought to the forefront once again the need for all retailers, whether physical stores or on-line sellers, the need to substantiate the claims that they make in their advertising.
NACS is convinced that students receive the best value for their textbook-buying dollars by purchasing course materials, whether in print or online, in or through the college store. Whether the student wants a new physical book, a used book, a course-pack, a rental, or an electronic book, the college store offers a range of options at the best value, and it remains the most accessible, user-friendly option for college students, while also supporting higher education.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
THE AMAZON STORE OF MY DREAMS
Michael Kozlowski of Good E-Reader is reporting that Amazon.com plans to open a retail store in the Seattle area in the coming months. The store will supposedly feature Kindle e-readers and tablets as well as other products, and is said to be an experiment to see if a chain of such outlets would make sense.
As a long-time Amazon addict–I suspect I give it more of my money than I do any other single merchant–I instinctively like the idea of an Amazon store.
(MORE: Amazon Said to Be Opening Its First Brick-and-Mortar Store)
I also understand why Amazon itself might like like the idea of such an establishment. Lots of people will order a Kindle over the web, sight unseen, but some folks would prefer to try one in person. And while Kindles are available at a bevy of retailers these days–everywhere from RadioShack to airport shops–Amazon has little or no control over the quality of the salesmanship provided by its retail partners. None of them offer an Apple Store-level shopping experience. Or, really, anything as pleasant as Amazon’s own website.
But how should Amazon translate its (mostly) wonderful online experience into a retail environment?
Part of Amazon’s online wonderfulness is the phenomenal selection–gazillions of products offered by Amazon itself, and gazillions more from third-party sellers. No store that Amazon is likely to open will try to recreate that endless choice in brick-and-mortar form, and that’s OK.
It would be cool, however, if Amazon tried its hand at other sorts of gadgets besides e-readers and tablets. It already several house brands and offers a somewhat random assortment of AmazonBasics products. If there were Amazon HDTVs or Amazon set-top boxes or Amazon phones, I’d consider buying them at an Amazon store.
Read more: http://techland.time.com/2012/02/07/the-amazon-store-of-my-dreams/#ixzz1nQXrWWWC
As a long-time Amazon addict–I suspect I give it more of my money than I do any other single merchant–I instinctively like the idea of an Amazon store.
(MORE: Amazon Said to Be Opening Its First Brick-and-Mortar Store)
I also understand why Amazon itself might like like the idea of such an establishment. Lots of people will order a Kindle over the web, sight unseen, but some folks would prefer to try one in person. And while Kindles are available at a bevy of retailers these days–everywhere from RadioShack to airport shops–Amazon has little or no control over the quality of the salesmanship provided by its retail partners. None of them offer an Apple Store-level shopping experience. Or, really, anything as pleasant as Amazon’s own website.
But how should Amazon translate its (mostly) wonderful online experience into a retail environment?
Part of Amazon’s online wonderfulness is the phenomenal selection–gazillions of products offered by Amazon itself, and gazillions more from third-party sellers. No store that Amazon is likely to open will try to recreate that endless choice in brick-and-mortar form, and that’s OK.
It would be cool, however, if Amazon tried its hand at other sorts of gadgets besides e-readers and tablets. It already several house brands and offers a somewhat random assortment of AmazonBasics products. If there were Amazon HDTVs or Amazon set-top boxes or Amazon phones, I’d consider buying them at an Amazon store.
Read more: http://techland.time.com/2012/02/07/the-amazon-store-of-my-dreams/#ixzz1nQXrWWWC
Friday, February 24, 2012
Amazon takes a company's e-books out of stores after disagreement
Five thousand of IPG’s books were taken out of the book giant’s Kindle e-book store. Paper versions of IPG’s books are still available on Amazon’s website.
“They decided they didn't like the terms we offered,” Suchomel said of the contract dispute between IPG and Amazon. “And we said, 'We're not going to change,' and they removed [the e-books].”
Would Google hire you? 10 test questions to find out
He said he didn’t feel he could further discuss the disagreement between the two companies.
“Amazon has issues with us talking too much,” Suchomel said.
IPG is the second-biggest distributor of books published independently in the country. Mark Suchomel, president of IPG, told the Chicago Tribune that e-book sales on Amazon only accounted for about 5 percent of the company’s earnings, so there isn’t any possibility that the removal of their e-books will cause them to go out of business.
“If they want to buy our books, they can buy them,” Suchamel said of Amazon. “We are happy to deal with them.”
Amazon didn't return calls for comment, said the Tribune.
“They decided they didn't like the terms we offered,” Suchomel said of the contract dispute between IPG and Amazon. “And we said, 'We're not going to change,' and they removed [the e-books].”
Would Google hire you? 10 test questions to find out
He said he didn’t feel he could further discuss the disagreement between the two companies.
“Amazon has issues with us talking too much,” Suchomel said.
IPG is the second-biggest distributor of books published independently in the country. Mark Suchomel, president of IPG, told the Chicago Tribune that e-book sales on Amazon only accounted for about 5 percent of the company’s earnings, so there isn’t any possibility that the removal of their e-books will cause them to go out of business.
“If they want to buy our books, they can buy them,” Suchamel said of Amazon. “We are happy to deal with them.”
Amazon didn't return calls for comment, said the Tribune.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Amazon Store? Maybe Try an In-Store Shop First
Five years ago, Amazon sold no physical merchandise of its own. Today, it sells five Kindle devices — more, if you count models with or without advertising or 3G wireless — plus a wide range of cables and accessories, both for the Kindle and now, for other devices.Hyper Smash
Amazon’s shift from electronics retailer to electronics manufacturer was scoffed at by many at the time, but it’s since transformed the company.
Nevertheless, Amazon still has nowhere near as much company-branded hardware as Apple or even Microsoft. It sells the bulk of its Kindles through its own online superstore. It’s managed to get Kindle readers into retail stores all over the U.S. without hanging up a single shingle. So why would Amazon be interested in opening up a boutique shop of its own?
Amazon’s shift from electronics retailer to electronics manufacturer was scoffed at by many at the time, but it’s since transformed the company.
Nevertheless, Amazon still has nowhere near as much company-branded hardware as Apple or even Microsoft. It sells the bulk of its Kindles through its own online superstore. It’s managed to get Kindle readers into retail stores all over the U.S. without hanging up a single shingle. So why would Amazon be interested in opening up a boutique shop of its own?
Kindle Fire Hits Four Million Sales Estimate For Q4, Says IHS
Amazon’s Kindle Fire chomped away at Apple and Samsung’s tablet market shares in the fourth quarter of 2011
On February 19, 2012 by Clint Boulton eWEEK USA 2012. Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc. All Rights Reserved 0
Amazon managed to sell 3.9 million Kindle Fire tablets during the fourth quarter, living up to analysts’ sales estimates for the seven-inch Android slate before it launched 15 November for $199 (£126), said researcher IHS iSuppli.
The Kindle Fire grabbed 14.3 percent of the nascent tablet market. That is good for Number Two in a market segment easily dominated by Apple’s iPad, which with 15.4 million units sold commanded 57 percent of Q4 tablets sales.
On February 19, 2012 by Clint Boulton eWEEK USA 2012. Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc. All Rights Reserved 0
Amazon managed to sell 3.9 million Kindle Fire tablets during the fourth quarter, living up to analysts’ sales estimates for the seven-inch Android slate before it launched 15 November for $199 (£126), said researcher IHS iSuppli.
The Kindle Fire grabbed 14.3 percent of the nascent tablet market. That is good for Number Two in a market segment easily dominated by Apple’s iPad, which with 15.4 million units sold commanded 57 percent of Q4 tablets sales.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
amazon kindle/The online giant hopes it's created the ipod of digital books.
Amazon's portable, handheld reader, which allows users to download digital versions of books, newspapers, and magazines, represents one of the first consumer uses of a low-power, easy-to-read electrophoretic display. The $399 device is a breeze to use, and though the company has not disclosed sales numbers, demand quickly outstripped supply. However, the success of the Kindle may depend on consumers' willingness to bear the price of using it: though e-books, at $9.99, cost less than most physical books, newspapers, blogs, and other content available free on the Internet will cost money (for instance, $1.99 per month for Slashdot and $13.99 per month for the New York Times).
Saturday, February 18, 2012
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