Amazon can learn some important things from Sears
As the quote goes, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” This article by The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson lays out the parallels between today’s Amazon and impact Sears had in America 100 years ago:
Why is Amazon looking more and more like an old-fashioned retailer? The company’s do-it-all corporate strategy adheres to a familiar playbook—that of Sears, Roebuck & Company. Sears might seem like a zombie today, but it’s easy to forget how transformative the company was exactly 100 years ago, when it, too, was capitalizing on a mail-to-consumer business to establish a physical retail presence.To understand Amazon—its evolution, its strategy, and perhaps its future—look to Sears.
One of the more astounding facts we gleaned from the piece was:
The company’s brick-and-mortar transformation was astonishing. At the start of 1925, there were no Sears stores in the United States. By 1929, there were 300.
Amazon’s recent moves have astounded some who simply view the company as a simple internet retailer. We’re talking about not just the acquisition of Whole Foods, but also the opening of physical books stores, kiosks in malls with Amazon Echo devices and such, and even the recent partnership with Kohl’s allowing customers to return items purchased online at a Kohl’s retail store.
The most recent Mission Statement we could find for Amazon is:
“Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
Looking at today’s retail landscape, we can see cause for the company to drop the last word of that statement, “online”. And as we sit here today, it’s hard to imagine Amazon ever facing the same fate as Sears has over the past 2 decades, but that, of course, reminds us of the quote from Mark Twain: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”
Read Full Article: Sears’s History Predicts Almost Everything Amazon’s Doing – The Atlantic
