Zappos

Zappos.com ( english) [ SAEP - pos] Zappos is an online store specializing in the sale and shipment of shoes and fashion items.

Headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, United States. The company employs over 1500 employees and has its own dispatch center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, United States.

History

As venture capitalists Swinmurn could bring the then 24 -year-old Tony Hsieh on board. This caused a furore a year ago, after he sold his StartUp "Link Exchange " for $ 265 million to Microsoft. The presented to him by Swinmurn figures showing that in 1998, about five percent of all U.S. footwear sales were made through catalog orders, convinced the young entrepreneurs. Swinmurn had found his niche and founded in 1999 the company Zappos (based on the Spanish word zapatos, which stands for shoes). The company quadrupled its sales to $ 8.6 million. The following year, the company opened its own fulfillment center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Advertising costs were minimal and the company grew mainly by word of mouth. In 2003, the company increased its turnover to $ 70 million. In 2004, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital invested $ 35 million in Zappos.com. In the same year, the company moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Las Vegas. 2004-2007 Zappos doubled its sales to $ 840 million.

Takeover by Amazon

In July 2009, Amazon.com acquired for approximately $ 850 million online shoe store Zappos. Amazon announced its intention to pay the purchase price in its own shares worth $ 807 million, in addition to $ 40 million in cash for the Zappos employees.

Products

The company generates 80 percent of sales through the online sales of shoes and shoe accessories, a further 20% accounted for by household goods, bags, jewelry and cosmetics. Currently, around 50,000 different products are offered online.