Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), its intimidating CEO, its fight with publishers and its staggeringly extensive reach were previewed in a series of videos that lead up to Dan Faber’s special on the company to be aired by CNBC.
In the first of the series of videos, Faber asked David Sellinger, a former data mining expert at Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), whether he remembers his first conversation with Jeff Bezos, the company’s notorious CEO and founder. The former Amazon employee who now runs his own research firm said that he markedly remembers his first conversation with the CEO and that few people will ever forget their first conversation with him. Furthermore, he noted that he remembers Bezos to have always been so smart, so driven and so confident in his abilities that his presence made other people feel inadequate.
In the second video, Faber talked to former Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) executive Randy Miller who left the company in 2006. The former executive, the video noted, admitted that the company did bully publishers. He said that this was actually in the company’s playbook. Miller said that retail is a contact sport and that there were a lot of concerns about the company as it got bigger. When told that the company likes to press its advantages, he noted that “that’s the handbook. It’s rule number 2, I think. Press your advantage.” The former executive admitted that he buried titles of publishers who fought with the company to lower rankings on the website in order to pressure publishers and get concessions.
In the third video, Faber discusses Matinicus, Maine, a far-flung community where some families depend on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) for their shopping needs. The segment features a family who almost solely rely on Amazon for purchasing goods. The family produces its own electricity and relies on themselves as much as they can save for an internet connection that links them to the internet commerce giant. With such a wide reach, Amazon is portrayed to be unstoppable in selling merchandise even when communities are so off the grid.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shareholders includes Patrik Brummer’s Zenit Asset Management Ab which reported owning 63,750 shares in the company by the end of March. Another shareholder is Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management which reported 58,200 shares in the company during the same reporting period.
Disclosure: None
