Question

Patrick O’Brien, a lead analyst at Verdict Retail is quoted in the case study saying: “They’ve [Amazon] managed to get top of mind on every category without doing anything creative – Amazon’s 20 years isn’t a marketing story, it’s all about availability and scale.” Do you agree or disagree with O’Brien’s assessment? Explain your response and provide at least one example that supports your perspective.

Answer 1

I fully disagree with O’Brien’s assessment. While O’Brien’s statement that Amazon’s roadmap to success is mainly due to availability and scale is a fact there is no denying the truth and the fact that Amazon’s success is also about innovation and creativity. In fact Amazon has been able to get top of mind on every category partly due to its innovation and creativity and partly due to its availability and scale. Jeff Bezos started Amazon on the merits of creativity and innovation and these two factors have contributed to a large extent to Amazon’s growth and expansion in last few years.

One example that supports my perspective is the example of Amazon’s apparel business. As per recent retail reports Amazon is the second largest apparel seller in USA and this can solely be attributed to the company’s creativity and ability to think out of the box. Amazon established its presence in the apparel category and evolved this business by doing brand experiments in home goods, outdoor furniture and accessories. These experiments helped Amazon work with a design ecosystem that is flexible in nature and hence fosters creativity and agile thinking and decision making.