Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com Inc., the largest retailer by web sales, received a Gold Medal Retailer of the Year award from his biggest competitors - the retail chains whose business model Amazon has disrupted with its innovative, customer-serving presence in e-commerce.
Bezos accepted the award from the National Retail Federation, whose members include such major Amazon rivals as Wal-Mart Stores, Sears Holdings Corp., Macy’s Inc. and Target Corp. Within the past year in particular, Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, has irked major retail chains by encouraging consumers to use their mobile phones while shopping in bricks-and-mortar stores to find lower prices on Amazon.com. Target for one has responded to competition from Amazon and other online retailers by offering to match prices on other retailers’ web sites. Target is No. 23 in the Top 500 Guide.
Surprised by the own success
Bezos, in a brief speech before a room of several thousand retailers, said he never expected Amazon to reach its current success, with $48 billion in revenue in 2011 and revenue of nearly $40 billion for the first nine months of 2012, the latest period for which it issued a financial report. “Eighteen years ago I was trucking packages to the post office in my Chevy Blazer,” he recalled. “I can assure you I did not expect to happen what happened.”
Exploring new opportunities
But Amazon developed a culture of constantly searching out new opportunities, and finding ways to serve them with innovation, he said.“We like to invent. We like to pioneer,” he said. He added that he and his teams of technology innovators aren’t afraid to “look down dark alleys,” seeking bright new opportunities, even though some lead to dead ends. Either way, Amazon likes the challenge of exploring, he said.
Honoring the employees
Bezos also noted that, while he was thankful to be personally honored, Amazon’s success relies on a corporate-wide effort of hard work. “I accept this award on behalf of Amazon employees around the world,” he said. “There are a bunch of people back in Seattle and around the world working their tails off for customers,” he said. “It’s great to get this recognition from this group on behalf of those people.”
Before he left the stage, Bezos gave his rivals a friendly warning that Amazon won’t stop innovating. “We’re still having fun,” he said. “Thank you.”
