Amazonis arguably one of the most successful online firms. As of this writing, its market value is over $79 billion, 40 percent higher than the combined value of two large and successful offline retailers, Target and Kohl’s, who have 2800 stores between them. Jeff Bezos conceived of Amazon as a business model with many potential advantages relative to a physical operation. It held out the potential of lower inventory and distribution costs and reduced overhead. Consumers could find the books (and later, other products) they were looking for more easily, and a broader variety could be offered for sale in the.
