Friday, February 6, 2009

No recession for those who build better mouestrap

"On a conference call with financial analysts last week, someone asked Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos whether other companies' failures were the secret of his company's success. All around Bezos, commerce is plummeting. Many rival retailers have reported their worst revenues in years; they're cutting workers or shutting down entirely. Yet Amazon is thriving: It just had its best holiday season in company history, with profits up 9 percent over last year.

Bezos offered a diplomatic answer: "In the long term, fortunately the markets that we operate in are very large markets, and there is room for lots of winners."

Perhaps he's right about the long run—but for now, he's being modest. In a retail desert—as customers turn to frugality and big-box stores turn to liquidation—Amazon remains an oasis: It's the one place that'll sell you stuff for a bargain without making you feel like you're slumming. "

http://www.slate.com/id/2210620/

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