Article: An Amazonian Survival Strategy: The e-tailer is long on Web savvy, short on profits. The world is full of companies with the opposite problem. Will the two tango?(Business)(Amazon.com)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)

Amazon.com is not only a new economy company, but it's also a New English and New Math company. A place where words and numbers have, shall we say, unconventional meanings. Before we get into that, we have to understand the two hard truths that are at the heart of Amazon's problems. First, like most Internet outfits, Amazon shouldn't have become a public company before it had a profitable business. Second, though the company denies it vigorously, I think it over-expanded into a hodgepodge of new businesses ranging from lawn furniture to faucets because the buzz phrase in 1999 was "top-line growth." That means increasing sales--but not necessarily making profits. Amazon ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!