Latest news with #TheEverythingStore
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Inside Amazon's radical redo of the 'Everything Store'
This post originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter. Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here. Hello, and welcome to your weekly dose of Big Tech news and insights. I'm your host, Alistair Barr. My dog Maisie came through her surgery. That cost thousands of dollars. How much would you pay to keep your furry friend alive? We reveal a radical overhaul of Amazon's online marketplace that's been hotly debated inside the tech giant. An exclusive look at one of Microsoft's top cloud customers, sharing big numbers you've never seen before. New data suggests Big Tech stock-based compensation could be under pressure. In 2013, my old boss Brad Stone published "The Everything Store." It's the defining book about Amazon's giant e-commerce business. The key idea in the book was infinite product selection. This strategy propelled the company to become the Western world's largest retailer. Based on quarterly sales, it overtook Walmart earlier this year. Having endless inventory means shoppers are more likely to find what they're looking for on Amazon, increasing the chances they buy something, and return again. That's been a powerful advantage over physical retail stores, which can only stock so much. However, in recent years, some of Amazon's digital aisles have become cluttered and outdated, which could confuse or frustrate shoppers. So, under CEO Andy Jassy, the company has been purging billions of product listings via a secret project known as "Bend the Curve." Business Insider's star tech reporter Eugene Kim has the scoop with all the juicy details. Does this spell the end of The Everything Store? Nope. There's no way Amazon would give up this hard-won advantage. Instead, it's mostly about cleaning up this giant online marketplace. Product listings get old. Sellers can chuck thousands of listings on there, and some are inaccurate or worse. There are also millions of dollars in cloud savings from not having to host billions of unproductive listings. Still, this big move has been debated inside Amazon, according to Kim's report. And surveys by Evercore ISI found that fewer shoppers think Amazon's product selection is the best. READ MORE Other BI tech stories that caught my eye lately: Exclusive: New numbers show just how big a customer Walmart is for Microsoft's cloud business. This venture capital firm bought a hospital chain. Why? Exclusive: Meta's big bet on virtual reality isn't stopping it from opening retail stores. I thought everyone knew not to speak their minds in work surveys? Apparently not. The life of the digital nomad is getting harder. My take on who's up and down in the tech industry right now, including updates on Big Tech employee pay. UP: Tesla surged this week after Elon Musk said he's getting back to work. DOWN: In late February, investor Ross Gerber predicted a 50% drop in Tesla's share price. The stock is up roughly 20% since then. Ouch! COMP UPDATE: Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald looked at restricted stock units issued recently by tech companies including Meta, Google, and Uber. RSUs are the main way tech employees get paid. The latest numbers show these equity awards are slowing down or even falling at some companies. The chart below shows changes in RSU grant value per employee. Other Big Tech stories I found on the interwebs: Making a video with fancy new AI tools is harder than you might think. (WSJ) Satellite smackdown: Apple versus SpaceX. (The Information) A self-driving truck startup siphoned trade secrets to Chinese companies. (WSJ) You can't develop chips without software from Cadence and Synopsys. The US is trying to limit China's access to this tech. (FT) This week, I'm telling you about an AI tool that may not be immediately obvious as AI. But it most certainly is. Tesla uses thousands of chips in massive data centers to train AI models that understand video collected from millions of the company's vehicles. This is used to develop FSD software for near-autonomous driving. I've been using FSD a lot this year in my Tesla Model 3 Performance. Here are the highs and lows. Is this a fair assessment? Tesla plans to roll out a full robotaxi service in Austin in June. This will be fully autonomous, with no human supervision. It's a huge leap. My FSD software still requires me to be responsible and alert. But this FSD diary gives some pretty solid clues to how capable Tesla's current software is. What AI tool should I use next week? Let me know. I would love to hear from anyone who reads this newsletter. What am I doing wrong? What do you want to see more of? Specifically, though: I want to know about your recent experiences with Amazon's online marketplace. Have you noticed an improvement in the quality of listings lately? Or have you sensed any change in product selection? Let Eugene Kim know at ekim@ Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Inside Amazon's radical redo of the 'Everything Store'
Hello, and welcome to your weekly dose of Big Tech news and insights. I'm your host, Alistair Barr. My dog Maisie came through her surgery. That cost thousands of dollars. How much would you pay to keep your furry friend alive? Agenda We reveal a radical overhaul of Amazon's online marketplace that's been hotly debated inside the tech giant. An exclusive look at one of Microsoft's top cloud customers, sharing big numbers you've never seen before. New data suggests Big Tech stock-based compensation could be under pressure. Central story unit In 2013, my old boss Brad Stone published "The Everything Store." It's the defining book about Amazon's giant e-commerce business. The key idea in the book was infinite product selection. This strategy propelled the company to become the Western world's largest retailer. Based on quarterly sales, it overtook Walmart earlier this year. Having endless inventory means shoppers are more likely to find what they're looking for on Amazon, increasing the chances they buy something, and return again. That's been a powerful advantage over physical retail stores, which can only stock so much. However, in recent years, some of Amazon's digital aisles have become cluttered and outdated, which could confuse or frustrate shoppers. So, under CEO Andy Jassy, the company has been purging billions of product listings via a secret project known as "Bend the Curve." Business Insider's star tech reporter Eugene Kim has the scoop with all the juicy details. Does this spell the end of The Everything Store? Nope. There's no way Amazon would give up this hard-won advantage. Instead, it's mostly about cleaning up this giant online marketplace. Product listings get old. Sellers can chuck thousands of listings on there, and some are inaccurate or worse. There are also millions of dollars in cloud savings from not having to host billions of unproductive listings. Still, this big move has been debated inside Amazon, according to Kim's report. And surveys by Evercore ISI found that fewer shoppers think Amazon's product selection is the best. News++ Other BI tech stories that caught my eye lately: Exclusive: New numbers show just how big a customer Walmart is for Microsoft's cloud business. This venture capital firm bought a hospital chain. Why? Exclusive: Meta's big bet on virtual reality isn't stopping it from opening retail stores. I thought everyone knew not to speak their minds in work surveys? Apparently not. The life of the digital nomad is getting harder. Eval time My take on who's up and down in the tech industry right now, including updates on Big Tech employee pay. DOWN: In late February, investor Ross Gerber predicted a 50% drop in Tesla's share price. The stock is up roughly 20% since then. Ouch! COMP UPDATE: Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald looked at restricted stock units issued recently by tech companies including Meta, Google, and Uber. RSUs are the main way tech employees get paid. The latest numbers show these equity awards are slowing down or even falling at some companies. The chart below shows changes in RSU grant value per employee. From the group chat Other Big Tech stories I found on the interwebs: Making a video with fancy new AI tools is harder than you might think. (WSJ) Satellite smackdown: Apple versus SpaceX. (The Information) A self-driving truck startup siphoned trade secrets to Chinese companies. (WSJ) You can't develop chips without software from Cadence and Synopsys. The US is trying to limit China's access to this tech. (FT) AI playground This week, I'm telling you about an AI tool that may not be immediately obvious as AI. But it most certainly is. Tesla uses thousands of chips in massive data centers to train AI models that understand video collected from millions of the company's vehicles. This is used to develop FSD software for near-autonomous driving. I've been using FSD a lot this year in my Tesla Model 3 Performance. Here are the highs and lows. Is this a fair assessment? Tesla plans to roll out a full robotaxi service in Austin in June. This will be fully autonomous, with no human supervision. It's a huge leap. My FSD software still requires me to be responsible and alert. But this FSD diary gives some pretty solid clues to how capable Tesla's current software is. What AI tool should I use next week? Let me know. User feedback Specifically, though: I want to know about your recent experiences with Amazon's online marketplace. Have you noticed an improvement in the quality of listings lately? Or have you sensed any change in product selection? Let Eugene Kim know at ekim@
CNBC
01-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz 'vividly' recalls advice from Costco co-founder—it 'became a core principle for us'
Howard Schultz's advice for CEOs on weathering economic uncertainty is simple: "Serve every customer and partner beyond their expectations," the former Starbucks CEO wrote in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. That's what Schultz tells the business leaders who reach out to him for insight into handling the global markets' current uncertainty, amid President Donald Trump's tariff policies, he wrote. "I'm not sure there is a playbook other than staying true to your values and a maniacal focus on the things you can control," he added. Schultz would know. He led Starbucks through a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis — relying on advice he now "vividly" remembers from Costco co-founder and former CEO Jim Sinegal, he wrote. "Howard, the cost of losing your core customers and trying to get them back during a down economy will be much greater than the cost of acquiring new customers," Sinegal said, according to Schultz. "[Sinegal's] sage gift became a core principle for us during that time of crisis, helping us emerge stronger as the headwinds died down," Schultz wrote. During the financial crisis, Starbucks faced an "existential crisis" and flagging sales, CNBC reported in 2009. Schultz cut costs, closed hundreds of locations and ignored pressure to raise prices — opting instead to offer customers discounts and easier mobile ordering through a loyalty program. He also shut every Starbucks store for three-plus hours of employee retraining to improve the company's focus on quality and customer service. "We reinvested in our people, we reinvested in innovation, and we reinvested in the values of the company," Schultz said in a 2010 Harvard Business Review interview. Starbucks' annual profits rebounded: $945 million by 2010, up from $315 million in 2008. "Great, enduring companies have the innate ability to effectively manage through turbulent and uncertain times by embracing customer centric innovation, value and brand [relevance]," Schultz wrote in his LinkedIn post. Sinegal's advice has helped at least one other industry giant. The Costco co-founder met Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for a coffee in 2001, when the tech company was struggling, and reportedly made quite the impression, according to the 2013 book "The Everything Store," by journalist Brad Stone. At that meeting, Stone wrote, Sinegal touted Costco's ability to maintain strong customer loyalty with "dirt cheap" prices made possible by keeping costs low and cultivating relationships with suppliers. Costco operated on the principle that "value trumps everything," meaning that a high degree of bang-for-the-buck was the best way to keep customers happy, Sinegal said, according to Stone. With Amazon's stock reeling after the dot-com bubble burst, Bezos committed to offering customers value, slashing prices on core products, The New York Times reported at the time. The company's sales rose, and Amazon posted its first-ever quarterly profit at the end of 2001. Today, Amazon is one of the world's most valuable companies, turning an annual profit of $59.2 billion in 2024.
