Industry Report
LIS 743 – Lenora Berendt
Cheryl Riendeau
8/13/2012
Cheryl Riendeau
LIS 743
Industry Report
Industry History
The subject of my company report, Amazon, participates in the electronic shopping
industry. Many companies are competing in this industry. Some are e-commerce only and for
some, e-commerce is an extension of their bricks-and-mortar stores. The initial evaluation of
Amazon’s competitors included two companies, Barnes & Noble and Apple, operating in the
industry with physical locations as well. This report extends the industry analysis of the company
report, rather than focusing on only e-commerce companies.
The new economy in the late 1990s generated a flood of new business to consumer (B2C)
e-commerce companies. This economy generated a plethora of new dot-com enterprises in
consumer products, specifically computers, books, apparel and toys. Many businesses were
drawn to e-commerce due to the low barrier to entry. In early 2000, many B2C enterprises went
bankrupt as investors began to make the distinction between online retailers with a lasting
presence and those who could not sustain that presence. The glamour of these start-ups wore off
and investors started to look at the long-term business plans of these companies. The initial low
barrier to entry seemed to weed out the companies that did not invest in the development of a
successful website, which starts at a million dollars. (Gale Group, 2012).
The sustainable e-commerce companies survived the dot-com crisis and seemed to
establish themselves, as they claimed 4.3% of total retail sales in 2005 as well as healthy revenue
gains. By 2010, B2C e-commerce was a viable part of the retail industry, with many bricks-andmortar stores establishing a retail web presence. Currently, the emergence of sites that facilitate
online price comparisons, have allowed consumers to compare prices across a broad range of
online stores, without navigating to numerous websites. This initially challenged the e-retailers,
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who eventually recognized these sites as an opportunity to funnel sales in their direction (Gale
Group, 2012).
Industry Description
The primary NAICS code for Amazon is 454111-Electronic Shopping. This code covers
business operating as: AV content downloading retail sales sites, B2C retail sales, e-retailers,
institutional pharmacies, internet retail sites, and web retailers (NAICS, 2012). Any retailer with
an e-commerce store will use this code. The SIC codes of all of the top thirteen industry leaders
(Hoovers, 2012), are all based on the bricks and mortar activities of the company, except for
Amazon. The NAICS codes are valuable for consolidating the e-commerce part of these
businesses because in bricks-and-mortar competition, they would possibly be completely
unrelated.
The Internet & Mail-Order retail industry in the U.S. includes about 20,000 companies
with combined annual revenue of about $270 billion. Worldwide, this industry generated more
than $1 trillion in revenue according to Internet Retailer and Global Industry Analysts. In 2010,
two billion people used the internet and the increase in broadband access will help drive the
global growth of this industry (First Research, 2012).
Companies in this industry sell a variety of products and services but some of the largest
revenue producers sell drugs, health and beauty aids, computer hardware and software, and
clothing. Personal consumers are the customers of these companies, but there is an increase in
business-to-business (B2B) transactions. This industry is highly seasonal, with the fourth quarter
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generating the greatest sales volume. Demand for internet retailers’ products also fluctuates with
changes in personal income (First Research, 2012).
The information in the January 2012 issue of Stores.org (NRF, 2012), lists the 2011 top
global retailers as Walmart (#1), Costco (#7), and Amazon (#35). Apple was 95 for this period.
According to the National Retail Foundation (NRFb, 2012), the hot 100 retailers for 2012
are Amazon (#7), Apple (#9), and Costco, (#63). Barnes & Noble and Walmart did not appear
on this list. The list is based on the percentage increase in sales from 2010 to 2011.
In 2011, the U.S. e-commerce spending rose 13% to a record $ 161.5 billion. The
convenience of shopping online as well as better pricing drove more customers to online
retailers. The overall outlook for this industry is positive. First Research forecasts the growth
rate to be 4%, compounded annually, for the years 2012 through 2015(2012). In the first six
months of 2012, retail sales for non-store retailers are up 11.2% compared to only a 2.7%
increase for general merchandise stores (U.S Census Bureau, 2012).
During the last holiday shopping season, store sales rose an overall 4.1%, while online
sales rose 15%. Online sales now represent more than 8% of total retail sales, up from 2% ten
years ago. Amazon’s growing strength in this industry is forcing other retailers to overhaul their
supply chains. When retailers first started e-commerce, they looked to Amazon or other
suppliers for distribution. Now these retailers are realizing they must open their own distribution
centers in order to compete. As a byproduct, these online retailers are injecting life into the
industrial retail market by building more distribution centers. (Bonney, 2012).
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Marketing
Traditional retailers with physical stores are becoming dominant in online retailing by
leveraging their customer awareness. Internet retailing has grown rapidly, and those online
retailers that can translate their physical shopping experience into an electronic one will be the
most successful. A wealth of consumer specific data that has already been collected can be used
to improve decision making through data-warehousing, sales forecasting, statistical modeling
and geographic analysis (First Research, 2012).
The current marketing scheme in the electronic shopping industry is to create mobile
applications (apps) to make it easier for users to click, shop and buy. In 2011, 34% of online
shoppers bought apparel online, of those shoppers, 8% used a mobile app for research, and 3 %
used the app to make the purchase (Gale Group, 2012). As a result, many e-retailers have
developed apps for smartphones, providing customer access to a mobile version of their website.
After Apple, Amazon is the master at the mobile shopping and comparison apps. Walmart
currently has an app for scanning items to see the price, creating shopping lists, coupons, and
viewing the local ads. The Costco app allows users to view the latest coupons, upload photos,
refill prescriptions and compare services. Companies operating e-commerce and mobile sites
need to be cognizant and responsive to the consumers’ needs for privacy, safety, and secure
transactions (First Research, 2012).
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Industry Leaders
The top B2C e-commerce firms, based on revenues, within the NAICS code 454111,
were:
Sales %
Company (State)
Sales (millions)
Employees
of Top 13
Walmart (AR)
$446,950
2,200,000
Apple (CA)
$108,249
63,300
8.11
CVS (RI)
$107,100
202,000
8.01
Tesco PLC (London)
$102,281
519,672
7.65
Costco (WA)
$ 88,915
164,000
6.65
Metro AG (Germany)
$ 86,372
290,747
6.46
Walgreens (IL)
$ 72,184
247,000
5.40
Seven & I Holdings (Japan) $ 59,470
51,888
4.45
Wesfarmers LTD (Australia) $ 56,260
24,093
4.22
Groupe Auchan (France)
$ 56,310
262,000
4.21
Sam’s West (AR)
$ 53,800
n/a
4.02
Lowe’s (NC)
$ 50,208
248,000
3.76
Amazon (WA)
$48,077
56,200
3.61
33.45
(First Research, 2012)
Of these companies, only Amazon is strictly e-commerce. Companies with bricks-andmortar stores use e-commerce to supplement sales, or established methods of distribution. Unlike
the web only stores, bricks-and-mortar can provide unique options, like free in-store pick up and
inventory location services. While Walmart, Costco, and Amazon have a strong international
presence, challenges remain in competing internationally. International privacy laws are
generally stricter than in the U.S., and allow less usage and trade of consumer data. U.S. retailers
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operating internationally, offer European customers the same privacy offered by European based
companies (Gale Group, 2012).
Companies
In addition to the analysis of Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble in the company report,
Walmart and Costco were analyzed. These two companies are major players in the retail
industry and an increasing amount of their business is moving to the e-commerce platform.
Sam Walton founded Walmart in Arkansas in1969. The company became public in 1972
and stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The goal of Sam Walton was to save
people money so they could live better (Walmart, 2012). Walmart is the largest retail company in
the world with over two million employees worldwide and more than $400 billion dollars in
revenue for the FY ended January 31, 2011. These revenues come from Walmart U.S. (62.1%),
Walmart International (26.1%), and Sam’s Club (11.8%). The U.S. and Puerto Rican geographic
segments accounted for 73.9% of the company’s revenue. The stores operated in the U.S. offer
branded and private label merchandise in various product categories, including grocery,
entertainment, electronics, apparel, health and wellness, and housewares and home furnishings.
They also offer pharmaceutical and optical services, cellular service plans, and money order and
wire transfer services. The retail operations are supported by 123 distribution facilities, which
represent 78% of the merchandise purchased by Walmart U.S. (Datamonitor, 2011).
Walmart International operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan and the UK.
Walmart also operates majority-owned subsidiaries in Chile, Mexico, and Central America.
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Operations in India and China are facilitated through joint ventures. Sam’s Club operates
membership warehouse stores in the U.S. (Datamonitor, 2011).
Members of the senior management team have been with the company for at least seven
years and have worked their way up the corporate ladder. The exception is the CEO of Sam’s
Club, who was hired in 2009. The senior management team includes three females. The Board of
Directors also includes three females, and members have connections to Dell, Cisco Systems,
McGraw Hill, Hyatt, Exxon Mobil, and American Express (Datamonitor, 2011).
In 2011, Walmart was first on the list of Fortune 500 companies. The scale of operations
is unprecedented, allowing for the low cost leadership strategy. Walmart U.S. makes itself an
integral part of consumer’s lives as it accounts for a large part of the country’s retail and grocery
sales. The large scale leads to favorable terms on everything from products to store leases and
distribution agreements. The pricing strategy ensures a steady stream of customers. Walmart is
synonymous with inexpensive and in the past has served primarily lower income consumers. The
current economic slowdown has put more people in that category, allowing the company to gain
new customers (Datamonitor, 2011).
As the market in the U.S. becomes saturated, Walmart’s focus on growing international
operations will help the company improve returns from emerging markets. The ability to
replicate its business model internationally will allow it to outperform local international retail
businesses, which sometimes is cause for anger amongst local communities. Its growing
presence in the emerging markets of Brazil, Mexico and South Africa will positively affect
revenues (Datamonitor, 2011).
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The big box store format Walmart uses has limited expansion in urban areas. The recent
housing market crash has limited the population and housing growth in suburban areas where
these stores have been attractive. Because of the sheer size of the physical stores, the lack of
urban presence, and housing declines, the traffic in the stores decreased in 2011. With over two
million employees, the company is threatened by labor disputes, class action litigation and rising
health care costs. In 2009 and 2010, the company settled wage and hour class action lawsuits,
which resulted in a charge of $382 million in 2009 and has the potential to create a charge of up
to $90 million in penalties. These lawsuits have eroded profits, and have reduced the potential
skilled workforce (Datamonitor, 2011).
The growth in internet retailing will give Walmart the opportunity to expand its customer
base. In April 2011, Walmart purchased Kosmix, in order to create technologies, social media,
and integrate its stores with e-commerce. This will help expand the customer base in the markets
where the store format is not acceptable (Datamonitor, 2011).
Like Amazon, Walmart faces the risk of foreign exchange fluctuation, but also faces risk
of commodity price fluctuation. The spread between the Consumer Price Index and the Producer
Price Index was the largest in 20 years. The increases could not all be passed on to the
consumer, and have affected profit margins in the grocery industry (Datamonitor, 2011).
Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) operates an international chain of membership
warehouses, similar to Sam’s Club (Walmart). They operate through a single business segment,
warehouse operations, with a limited product line. This line includes quality, nationally branded
items as well as private label products. The product line includes grocery items, household items,
appliances, electronics, hardware, home furnishings, pharmaceuticals, jewelry and apparel. They
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also offer business and home services, as well as operating gas stations at some of their locations
(Marketline, 2012).
Costco began operations in 1983 in Washington. In 1997, the company spun off most of
its non-warehouse assets to Price Enterprises. In 1983 opened its first Asian operation in Seoul,
and in 1995 started operations in Taiwan. The Board of Directors at Costco has links to some
high-profile companies and foundations. Board members, of which two are female, are
connected to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Pixar Companies, Microsoft Corporation
and Berkshire Hathaway. The senior management team also includes two females. (MarketLine,
2012)
The fiscal year (FY) ends in August, and for the FY 2011, Costco’s revenues increased
14.1% over 2010, and their operating profit increased 17.4% over the previous year. Costco
operates 592 warehouses in 40 states and 492 locations in Puerto Rico. They also operate in
Canada (82 locations), the UK (22 locations), Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Australia. They have
operations in Mexico through a joint venture. The U.S. is the largest geographic market,
accounting for 73% of the revenue in FY 2011. Canada accounted for 15.8% of the FY 2011
revenues, with the remainder coming from international operations (Marketline, 2012).
Costco earns revenues from warehouse operations and through membership fees. Most of
the merchandise is purchased directly from manufacturers. They operate depots to hold
merchandise, and from there they go directly to the warehouses. Goods are moved from the
depots to the warehouses in less than 24 hours. Costco’s marketing is limited to new locations,
direct mail campaigns, and coupons and a monthly magazine for existing members. Costco’s e-
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commerce business offers most merchandise available in the warehouses as well as additional
products (MarketLine, 2012).
Like Amazon and Walmart, Costco is positioning itself as a pricing leader in order to
increase customer loyalty and gain new customers. Costco maintains a maximum markup of
14%. The average industry markup is 20-25% at supermarkets, 30-35% for home improvement
retailers, and 50-100% at mall retailers. This price positioning led to an 89% membership
renewal rate in the U.S. and Canada in 2011. With 64 million members worldwide, that figure
adds up to about $1.9 billion in cash fees. Costco focuses on efficiency in every process, from
the warehouse operations to the depot operations. Marketing costs are minimal, as well as
expenditures for the no-frills warehouse shopping experience. Due to the economy and cautious
consumer spending, there is an increasing demand for value products at low price points and
Costco is in a position to be competitive in this industry (MarketLine, 2012).
Costco’s private label brands under the Kirkland label offer lower price points to gain
competitive advantage. Currently, sales of private label brands make up 25% of revenue. These
products have good brand recognition and offer higher margins than the brand name
merchandise. Revenue from online sales has increased 15.9% from 2009-2011. This retail
channel will allow a wider customer base as well as lower infrastructure costs, which will
increase profit margins (MarketLine, 2012).
The main weakness of Costco, as compared to the industry is the limited product choice.
At any one time, Costco’s offers about 3,600 products for sale, compared to Walmart’s 100,000
products. Amazon’s product line potentially runs into the millions. The limited product line
coupled with low consumer spending and high unemployment in Costco markets, may limit their
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revenue producing capability. Costco employs 164,000 workers, which puts its profitability at
risk due to rising wage rates and healthcare costs. Like Amazon and Walmart, their widespread
international operations also put the company at risk for foreign exchange rate fluctuations
(MarketLine, 2012).
Market Information
In the last six months, Amazon stock is up 26.53%, the Walmart stock is up 19.19%, and
the Costco stock is up 12.82%. These stocks are among the best performing stocks of the
Broadline Retailers Index. This index has increased 37% in the last year. Walmart of Mexico is
on the list of the worst performing stocks, with at decrease of 8% (MarketWatch, Inc. 2012).
The following snapshot of the market (NASDAQ, 2012) for these industry stocks will
give an indication of how the market perceives these companies and their performance in the last
reported fiscal year.
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Costco
Wal-Mart
Barnes & Noble
Apple
Amazon
Share
$95.30
$73.68
$14.31
$621.70
$232.75
EPS
$ 3.59
$ 4.64
$ -1.53
$ 42.54
$
26.55
15.88
n/a
14.61
287.25
-4.25%
-6.52%
-219.31%
-16.11%
6.47%
1.59
n/a
Price per
.81
P/E
Ratio
Growth rate
Relative to
Industry
Dividends
(annualized)
1.10
Current Ratio
114%
88%
109%
n/a
161%
n/a
117%
Inventory
Turnover
1339%
n/a
456%
13950%
963%
1.64%
3.5%
-1%
23.9%
1.3%
Net Income%
To Revenue
Industry Evaluation
Strengths & Opportunities
In the twelve months ended March 2012, Amazon added 28,000 employees, a 73%
increase over the previous year. This increase was due to the expanded warehouse and shipping
network as well as expansion into new business segments. According to industry analysts, this
increase is relatable to the e-commerce market as a whole, especially if consumer confidence
improves (First Research, 2012).
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The increase in broadband access will help drive the global growth of this industry.
Growth will occur due to new online buyers, as well as repeat business. More than 85% of U.S.
households have internet access, with broadband access in more than 80% of those households,
which makes online shopping faster. Growth is also driven by the expansion of the middle class
and the continued search for the lowest price, good value, and consumer convenience (First
Research, 2012).
Amazon, Walmart and Costco currently have substantial international business segments.
This will help the companies capitalize on the opportunities for growth in emerging markets of
Spain, Brazil, China, Russia and Mexico. Revenues in these markets are forecasted to rise 26%
through 2015. Success in these markets, as in all international markets will depend on the
retailers’ sensitivity to different cultures and the ability to deliver products (First Research,
2012).
Generating repeat business is important to internet retailers, given the wealth of choices
available. Partnerships with technology companies allow retailers to better mine and leverage
their customer data (First Research, 2012). E-commerce sites are being updated to provide
custom messaging for customers, especially due to entry from points outside of the shopping
home page. Amazon is already masterful at this, due to the size of its customer base and its
advanced site algorithms.
Loyalty and points programs will also generate the repeat business that these companies
need to maintain their customer base. (First Research, 2012). Online retailers, like Amazon,
sacrifice short-term profits to generate long-term customer loyalty. Currently, Amazon has
collaborated with Discover Card, to offer free one day shipping for Discover customers
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purchasing certain products, the general theme being back-to-school supplies. They have also
made it easy for Discover customers to use their cash back rewards on the Amazon site. This is a
move to compete with Walmart’s free site-to-store shipping program, where orders can be
shipped free to any Walmart store in the country. Apple is currently running promotions to
receive iTunes gift cards if you purchase a Mac or an iPad. Apple always gives a 10% discount
to college students purchasing Apple products. Costco is the only company who is not offering
online back-to-school sales, although the warehouses currently have back-to-school bundles.
Weaknesses & Threats
Sales taxes for online purchases are a significant issue for Amazon. Charging sales taxes
on online sales would be a multi-billion dollar boon to American states. In current economic
times, this legislation is a very real possibility. Since Walmart and Costco have physical stores in
many states, and are currently charging sales taxes, this legislation will even the playing field.
This is a major platform for competition for Amazon and other non-store retailers, and this
benefit will mostly likely be disappearing. This will cause these non-store retailers to develop
programs to remain competitive with the bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Costco, Amazon, Apple and Walmart all have international operations. The foreign
exchange risk is and unknown and unpredictable, but may have a dramatic effect on the net
income of all of these companies.
Shipping and postage are major expenditures of an e-commerce business and managing
these rising costs offer major threats and opportunities for competitive advantages. Studies have
shown that 2/3 of Internet shoppers place items in carts, and then abandon them, mostly due to
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shipping charges (Hoovers, 2012). For expedient delivery, locating distribution facilities near
areas of population growth will be a key factor globally.
The seven elements critical to the shopper’s checkout experience are fears, uncertainty,
incentives, trust, buying stage, complexity, engagement and visitor persona. Some e-retailers are
reformatting the clicks in order to simplify the checkout process (First Research, 2012).
Legal Proceedings
Walmart is currently involved in class action lawsuits for wages and hourly rates, and
gender discrimination. They are also involved in a Hazardous Material investigation. Costco is
involved in a class action lawsuit regarding fuel pricing. Amazon is involved in numerous patent
suits. The suits allege infringement in the areas of website and mobile technologies, and
hardware in the manufacturing of the Kindle products. Apple is involved in two anti-trust suits,
one with AT&T Mobility. These continuing legal proceedings may have an effect on profits or
how products are brought to market at these companies. In most cases, contingencies have been
made in income statements for these items, even though most of these suits are being litigated
(SEC, 2012).
Market share
Industry growth with depend on consumer’s income and the spending rate on nonessential items. All of the companies in this industry need effective marketing campaigns in
order to inform customers of their competitive strategies (First Research, 2012).
Market share is difficult to determine, as these companies are competing among different
product lines. Amazon is currently in competition with Barnes & Noble and Apple for sales of
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tablets. All three companies are competing for share in content downloads as well. Amazon is
competing head to head with iTunes over digital downloads, and is generally the low-price retail
leader for all music, although iTunes still has a staggering 26.7% of the music base to Amazon’s
1.3%. Walmart currently dominates physical CD sales in the country music field, and is
currently challenged by Target for a share of this market (Christman, 2010).
Barnes & Noble will no longer sell Amazon created books in its stores due to Amazon’s
exclusivity deals with publishers and authors. This could affect the authors that Amazon attracts
to its publishing business. Many consumers still prefer to purchase books at Barnes & Noble and
Walmart and may drive authors away from Amazon (Bosman, 2012). Costco also provides
competition in the physical book industry, by offering competitive pricing on new-popular
books, although the selection at Costco is much more limited.
People are increasingly buying electronics online. Sales at physical electronics stores
have declined 2.6% in the last five years, contributing to the current economic troubles at Best
Buy. Sales of electronics online have increase 14.7 % in that same period (Clifford, 2012). This
is a great benefit for Amazon, but there is still a market for comparing, viewing and purchasing
electronics in a bricks-and-mortar store. Amazon is selling its Kindle products in Best Buy, so
customers can try them against competing e-readers and tablets. Apple stores do a great
business, due to their service offerings as well as selling products at their stores, Best Buy and
Target. Costco competes in electronics not only on price, but offers an extended warranty (free)
and liberal return policies on electronics purchased in the store or online.
Market share of e-commerce will depend on a company’s management and simplification
of the seven elements critical to the shopper’s checkout experience: fears, uncertainty,
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incentives, trust, buying stage, complexity, engagement and visitor persona (First Research,
2012).
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