Amazon.com buying shoe seller Zappos for 8 million
Amazon said on Wednesday it struck a deal to buy Zappos, for 927.9 million — mostly in stock — growing its footprint in shoes and apparel.
The world’s largest online retailer should benefit from the fiercely loyal customer base at Zappos, which had about $1 billion of gross merchandise sales last year.
Zappos is known for its attentive customer service, free shipping and a free returns policy which inspires shoppers to gamble on shoes.
The company said Amazon will allow it to continue running its business as it always has.
Amazon, which began as an online bookseller, has greatly expanded its range of offerings while also allowing third-party sellers to showcase their own items on its site.
In 2008, Zappos earned more than $40 million before interest, tax, and amortization on net revenue of $625 million, a Zappos shareholder who had seen the company’s financials told Thomson Reuters private-equity news site PEHub.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company had considered going public through an IPO, but that main investor Sequoia Capital had pushed for a sale instead.
Zappos has put customers at ease buying shoes online because it guarantees free shipping on deliveries as well as returns.
Based on Amazon’s closing price of $88.79, the deal is valued at about $927.9 million.
Morgan Stanley, and Fenwick & West advised Zappos on the deal.
Lazard Ltd advised Amazon.
Categories: Mixed Tags: amazon, brand, business, company, deal, employee, eyesofobserver, eyesofobserver.com, ice, Internet, nue, shoes, stock, World, zappos, zappos going public, zappos shareholder
Billion for Gas Fill-up? Yes, at a Conoco Station
Taking a look at the account, he came to realize that he had been charged $81 billion for the fill-up.
Obviously a mistake, as it would be tough for a large company to have a gas bill that high, and the process soon began to try and correct what can best be described as a serious problem.
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Categories: Mixed Tags: account, charge, company, company claim, gas, man, mistake, PayPal, people, pump, station
Microsoft Ask Laid Off Workers for Money Back
In what appears to be a clear sign of the times, Microsoft is reportedly asking laid off employees to return portions of their severance pay that the company apparently overpaid.
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Categories: Mixed Tags: company, employee, ibm, microsoft, overpayment, technology
