Amazon Research

Who owns the site?
Owner: Capital Group Companies
Founder/CEO: Jeff Bezos
Founded: 1995

Do they also own any traditional media businesses?
Joyo.com
BookSurge
Mobipocket.com
Shopbop
dpreview.com
LoveFilm
Pushbutton
Double Helix Games
comiXology

• 1998: PlanetAll, a reminder service based in Cambridge, Massachusetts; 

• Junglee, an XML-based data mining startup based in Sunnyvale; Bookpages.co.uk, a UK online book retailer, which became Amazon UK on October 15, 1998; 
• Telebook (www.telebuch.de) was Germany's leading online bookstore, it became Amazon's German online store; Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

• 1999: Alexa Internet a database company;Accept.com a financial services company; Drugstore.com 40% investment in 1999, increased stake in 2000, sold stake to Walgreens in 2011 for a 90% loss; GeoWorks, a wireless communications company, acquisition of a minority interest; 
• Pets.com, purchased a 54 percent stake;
• LiveBid.com, which produced Internet-based auction software; e-Niche Incorporated comprising Exchange.com, Bibliofind.com (hard-to-find book titles), and Musicfile.com (hard to find music titles); HomeGrocer.com, a 35 percent stake in the online grocer; Gear.com, 49 percent stake (the company was purchased by Overstock.com in 2000); Tool Crib of the North, acquired the online and catalog sales division of the company in October 1999, selling a very wide variety of tools and home improvement items; Convergence Corporation, software to connect wireless devices to the Internet; MindCorps Incorporated, applications for web sites including online chats to web based databases; Della.com, gift registry, expert advice, and personalized gift suggestions, Amazon purchased a 20% stake  (in April 2000, the company merged with WeddingChannel.com); Back to Basics Toys, catalog toy store (sold to Scholastic in 2003 ); Ashford.com, retailer of luxury products, Amazon acquired a 16.6 percent ownership; Leep Technology Inc., developer of on-line database query tools;

• 2003: Online music retailer CDNow. By 2011, the website cdnow.com was defunct and in use by a different company.

• 2004: Joyo.com, a Chinese e-commerce website

• 2005: BookSurge, a print on demand company, and Mobipocket.com, an e-book software company. CreateSpace.com (formerly CustomFlix), a distributor of on-demand DVDs (since expanded to include print on-demand books, CDs, and video), based in Scotts Valley, California. Smallparts.com, an industrial component supplier.

• 2006: Shopbop, a retailer of designer clothing and accessories for women, based in Madison, Wisconsin.

• 2007: dpreview.com, a digital photography review website based in London; Brilliance Audio, the largest independent publisher of audiobooks in the United States.

• 2008: Audible.com; Fabric.com;  Box Office Mojo; AbeBooks; Shelfari;  (including a 40% stake in LibraryThing and whole ownership of BookFinder.com, Gojaba.com, and FillZ); Reflexive Entertainment, a casual video game development company.

• 2009: Zappos, an online shoe and apparel retailer Lexcycle, SnapTell, an image matching startup, Stanza, a rival e-book reader to Amazon's Kindle.

• 2010: Touchco., Woot, Quidsi, BuyVIP, Amie Street.

• 2010: Toby Press

• 2011: LoveFilm, The Book Depository, Pushbutton Yap,

• 2012: Kiva Systems, Teachstreet Evi

• 2013: IVONA Software,Goodreads Liquavista 

• 2014: Double Helix Games, comiXology

What is it revenues?

• US$ 74,452.0 million (2013) 

• US$ 61,093.0 million (2012)

• What is its overall worth?
• $30.4 billion
• Research 5 key facts about the institution?
• 1.The first book Amazon.com ever sold was from Bezos' garage in July 1995. The book was Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.
  2. Amazon's current logo was designed to depict a smile that goes from A to Z. "This signifies that the company is willing to deliver everything to everyone, anywhere in the world."
  3. Amazon owns 10 percent of North American E-Commerce. 
  4. Last year, when Amazon's site went down for 49 minutes the company missed sales of nearly $5.7 million.
  5. In 2009, Amazon.com bought popular online shoe retailer Zappos.com in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion.
  Find three quotes (with references) about the institution?
• 1. "I am extremely devoted to Amazon Prime" - Emily Oster 
• 2. "
• Summarise two linked wikipedia articles (5 bullet points each)
• List the key info provided on the companys corporate homepage