Amazon.com, Inc., started as only an online bookstore that Jeff Bezos operated from his garage in Seattle. Today, it is the sixth-largest company worldwide with a market capitalization of $1.9 trillion. But, what propelled the Amazon founder to go beyond books?
What Happened: In a 2018 interview with David Rubenstein, Amazon founder Bezos reminisced about the company's transformation from an online book retailer to one of the biggest e-commerce giants in the world.
Bezos said that after books, they started selling music and videos. "Then I got smart and I emailed a thousand randomly selected customers and asked them besides the things we sell today what would you like to see us sell?"
The tech billionaire said that the responses he received were incredibly "long-tailed" as customers answered whatever they wanted to purchase at the moment. "
"I remember one of the answers was ‘I wish you sold windshield wiper blades because I really need windshield wiper blades' and I thought to myself ‘We can sell anything this way,'" he said.
After this realization, Amazon expanded into more categories including electronics and toys. This was also the point where the company's vision evolved from just being an online bookstore to a platform that could sell anything.
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Why It Matters: In April, Amazon, which was founded in 1994, reported its first-quarter financial report, with net sales of $143.3 billion, a 13% year-over-year increase. This also exceeded the Street’s consensus estimate of $142.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Bezos who stepped down from the role of Amazon CEO in 2021 and took over the executive chairman position, ranks second in the list of Bloomberg Billionaire Index. His wealth witnessed a significant increase last year and he currently has a total net worth of $206 billion.
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Read Next: Jeff Bezos Made Over $7.9 Million An Hour Every Hour In 2023 — In Under 13 Minutes, He Brought In The Equivalent Of What The Typical Person Earns In A Lifetime
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