Comments on: ‘Zappos and Amazon Sitting in a Tree…’

By: Home Builders, Price Contractors, Homebuilding Building

Home Builders, Price Contractors, Homebuilding Building — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:07:05 +0000

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By: Jeanne Bliss

Jeanne Bliss — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:28:01 +0000

Alfred,
It’s great that you also chimed in, being the “money guy.” As you know, everybody wants you to stay just the way you are!
Thanks for the shout-out on the new book! It’s called “I Love You More than My Dog: Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty In Good Times and Bad.” Turns out, there are five common decisions made by beloved companies that earn outlandish raves and love from their customers! http://www.amazon.com/Love-You-More-Than-Dog/dp/1591842956

By: Alfred Lin - COO/CFO of Zappos

Alfred Lin - COO/CFO of Zappos — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:39:07 +0000

Hi Jeanne!
Thanks for such a great writeup. Tony already said it. We are very excited about the future and will continue to build the Zappos brand, culture, and business with more resources.
Looking forward to your new book.

By: Alfred Lin

Alfred Lin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:38:17 +0000

By: Jeanne Bliss

Jeanne Bliss — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:24:57 +0000

Tony,
Thanks for responding on such a busy day!
Legions of Zappos fans want you to stay just the way you are! Great to hear that’s your plan. People really want to have confidence that you’ll be able to keep that unique Zappos culture hopping!

By: Tony Hsieh - CEO Zappos.com

Tony Hsieh - CEO Zappos.com — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:14:22 +0000

Hi Jeanne!
Thanks for the great writeup! We’re really excited about what Zappos and Amazon will be able to accomplish together, and as mentioned in the letter, we plan to continue to build the Zappos brand, culture, and business the way we always have — we’ll just have access to more resources now!

By: Chrystal K.

Chrystal K. — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:44:42 +0000

Mama needs a new pair of shoes.

By: Jeanne Bliss

Jeanne Bliss — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:35:22 +0000

Shawn,
Glad you brought up the point about Zappos now being part of a publicly traded company.
You are right, there will be some new “rules of the road” and constraints that must be followed. The transparency that Tony and the Zappos gang has fostered however, can be retained. They may have to crusade for it, but my sense is that they will. Time of course is the biggest wild card in terms of sustaining Zappos’ unique culture for the long term.
We went through this when Lands’ End went public with the financial community. There were quite a few decisions and actions that we made that didn’t quite make sense to them on the balance sheet. Our meetings with them, especially early on, included a great deal of involving and having them experience the “Lands’ End Way.” What I know of my time with Tony and team is that I suspect they are considering these new dimensions that must be part of justifying actions. What they do is not intuitive; that’s what makes them have the value they do. It will be interesting to watch how they Zappos builds relationships with this new stakeholder, the financial community, “Zappos style.”

By: Shawn Freeman

Shawn Freeman — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:13:14 +0000

Zappos will definitely benefit from the operational efficiencies that Amazon can bring to the table. That said, I’d be hard pressed to say Zappos has stumbled to this point. They may have been able to do it on their own.
As for corporate culture, well, that will likely be a different story. The empowerment that Zappos allows their employees becomes increasingly more difficult as the size of the company grows. At some point, they likely would have had to institute some tighter restraints on who could take what actions. I’ll try to remain optimistic, but infusing a publicly traded company into the mix, and all the the challenges that come with having shareholders, may only speed those inevitable restraints.
Still, in the end, if you asked me to pick a company to buy Zappos, Amazon would have been at the top of the list.

By: Jeanne Bliss

Jeanne Bliss — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:57:52 +0000

Paul,
I couldn’t agree more. Zappos is growing rapidly and will benefit from the scalability machine and “know how” that Amazon has mastered.
Because of the intense emotional bond and connection that customers have with Zappos, they are going to feel very protective of how they interact with Zappos. Changes in the tenor or tone of the relationship will be quickly noted by customers who love “their” Zappos. I think this is the equity that Zappos knows they have to protect the most.