|
发表于 2014-6-26 13:36:04
|
显示全部楼层
AMAZON'S BUSINESS MODEL
E Ratio Must Fall
It is said that Warren Buffet popularized the idea of a moat protecting long term investments. The word moat tends to beget an image of companies as castles in warring medieval principalities. The castles with a moat can sustain the assaults of their enemies more readily than the kingdoms possessing fortified walls alone. (AMZN), point to Amazon's simple, user friendly interface, their commanding presence in ecommerce, their reputation for strong customer service, and their price leadership as a moat capable of preserving Amazon's castle.
Others in the investment community view Amazon as a marauding giant, slaying hapless retail foes in a sequential fashion. In one tremendous stride, Amazon crosses the hapless victim's puny moat, topples their flimsy fortifications and devours their foe without even a hint of indigestion to mark the companies passing (now is the time to imagine Border's bookstores).
AMAZON'S BUSINESS MODEL
While conducting research for this article, I spoke with a number of my friends. They were unanimous in their opinion that Amazon offers the best ecommerce site. There is no doubt that Amazon has transformed the retail industry, not only in the United States,fotos de nike shox, but throughout the world. They have created a new paradigm, and in doing so have gained the high ground in the battle against their opponents.
Supposedly, a Confederate general,cheap air max, when asked about his success in battle,nike air max cinza e laranja, stated his strategy was to, "git thar fustest with the mostest." If Amazon's intent was to get there first with the most, they succeeded. But if the Confederate general were here today, he might better describe Amazon's strategy as to, "git thar the biggest and the fustest."
Amazon's current dominance in the ecommerce arena is undeniable. Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act. Currently stalled in the House, the law,tenis nike impax, if enacted, would require ecommerce retailers with over $1 million in out of state sales to collect tax on those revenues.
Amazon has stated publicly they are proponents of the Marketplace Fairness Act and believe it will serve their business interests. Practically every other internet retailer expresses opposition to the law. Their line of reasoning views the law as easing Amazon's ability to expand their network of fulfillment centers, thereby aiding in Amazon's continued growth.
Amazon's actions seem to contradict this assumption. Amazon's construction of fulfillment centers appears to be very deliberate in nature. Many states are without fulfillment centers,nike shox nz sl si, almost certainly as a means of avoiding increased taxation.
Furthermore,nike air max cinza e rosa, recent sales trends,nike air max rosa e branco, while not definitive in nature,comprar nike shox original, seem to indicate Amazon's sales suffer when the company is required to collect a state sales tax. In the third quarter of 2012, Amazon began collecting sales tax in California, Texas and Pennsylvania. My favorite movie is Braveheart, and a consistent theme of the movie is the various Scottish clans tendency to quarrel amongst themselves. Grievances, great and small,tenis nike feminino, act as a centrifugal force to prevent the clansmen from uniting and facing a common threat: Longshanks, bent on the subjugation of the Scots!
And just as Longshanks was able to sway certain Scots to his side in the cinematic thriller,air max 90 feminino, Amazon once had major retailers as allies. A few years ago, Amazon counted Target (TGT), Toys "R" Us, Macy's (M) and Gap (GPS) as retailers selling products on their site. Today each of those retailers, and many more once affiliated with Amazon, stand as ecommerce competitors. In the year before their departure, Target alone had $1.2 billion in on line sales through Amazon.
Not only are large retailers leaving Amazon,loja nike brasil, smaller businesses are also leaving in significant numbers. Those businesses complain of reduced customer service, which if accurate, can be defined as neglect.
In addition to the small businesses voluntarily leaving Amazon, the company is jettisoning others in states that require the collection of a state sales tax. In May of 2013, for example, Minnesota legislators passed a law requiring Amazon affiliates to collect and remit the state's sales tax. Amazon's reaction to the law was to unceremoniously end relationships with vendors in that state (it should be noted other ecommerce companies responded in the same fashion).
Minnesota has approximately 5,200 affiliates affected by the law. A drop of water in the sea that constitutes Amazon's clients. But Amazon has severed associations with affiliates in other states to avoid the remission of taxes, and it is logical to believe they will feel compelled to do the same in more states in the future.
In preparing for this article, I was left with the impression that Amazon is a ruthless competitor. Retailers complained of Amazon mining their data sources and siphoning sales from their product lines. There is a belief that once Amazon identifies a product as commercially successful, they will contact a retailers' suppliers and undersell their own clients.
In March of 2013, a class action lawsuit was filed against Amazon. The suit claims Amazon routinely withheld funds from third party vendors for longer than 90 days.
If the plaintiffs' allegations are true, this does not bode well for Amazon's continued relations with third party vendors vendors that provide 40% of Amazon's products and contribute up to 12% of Amazon's revenues. It could also substantially and immediately impact Amazon's bottom line. According to the suit, Amazon's third party vendors racked up an average of $160 million in daily sales. By routinely withholding those funds,nike shox turbo 13 branco, Amazon is able to reap "many tens of millions of dollars annually."
If the above listed allegations and grievances are true, one has to wonder, how many retailers and vendors can Amazon sabotage, neglect and otherwise alienate without harming their own business?
OPAQUE: Not transparent: hard to understand or explain
There are those who complain of Amazon's lack of transparency when dealing with investors. His conclusion: nobody really knows. Analysts continue to tout Amazon as an enterprise worth paying $400 a share for while unable to thoroughly analyze the company.
Paulo Santos, my esteemed colleague with SeekingAlpha, (OK, he is light years ahead of me, but I can dream can't I?) has spoken of alleged accounting shenanigans perpetrated by Amazon. I will admit I'm out of my league when grappling with some of the arcane aspects of the accounting discipline, so I will refer you to this article.
This begs the question, why does Amazon feel compelled to cloak their figures? And how can analysts issue buy ratings for a company they can't analyze? More importantly, why would an investor risk hard earned money in a stock that one is unable to truly understand?
BACK TO
Amazon is the retail industries' Longshanks. There is no reason to believe Wal Mart (WMT), Target and Best Buy (BBY) have any love for each other. But every brick and mortar retailer views Amazon as a threat to their continued existence. Consequently, they are in a never ending state of war with Amazon.相关的主题文章:
The cache has been transporte
and in lieu of the honeymoon
or cry. And tho that may make me sound as if i am very childish
Three female slaves, one held for more than 30 years, have been discovered in London after one contacted a charity run by Aneeta Prem (pictured) They were released in October when one of the women called Charity after seeing a documentary about forced marriage on television. The Independent said she spoke of a 'friend' being unwell, but did not reveal that she and the two others were being held captive. |
|