Deals
Amazon.com Acquires Shoe E-tailer Zappos
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In its largest acquisition to date, Amazon.com just bought Zappos.com, the celebrated online shoe store, for stock worth $807 million plus $40 million in cash and restricted stock to Zappos employees. Ten-year-old Zappos will continue to operate independently, with current management in place in its Las Vegas headquarters. (Update: At Amazon’s closing price today, the total deal approaches $930 million.)
The combination makes a lot of sense, most of all for one reason: Both companies have a genuine focus on customer service, one that is apparent to anyone who has shopped both stores. They’re not perfect, but it’s obvious that “customer focus” isn’t just a platitude with these folks.