Amazon vs. Borders Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Amazon vs. Borders Books - Essay Example Having seen the huge growths of Borders, Kmart acquired it in 1992 and renamed the company name as Border Group. It started international expansion during the latter periods of 1990’s and started its first international office in Singapore in 1997. Subsequently the company was expanded to many other overseas countries and was in good shape till 2004. However, it started to face many problems from 2004 onwards and currently one the verge of destruction. It filed bankruptcy suit for closing its 200 stores in 2011. Comparison of the management approaches each company took to Internet marketing and sales Amazon formulated many strategies to keep the visitors for longer periods in its website. They were aware of the fact that spending more time by surfers in their website may definitely increase their sales. They did everything possible to tie up the visitors in their website. Since majority of the internet surfers are teenagers, Amazon focused more in catering the needs of the tee nagers while they visit Amazon’s website. In short, Amazon’s internet marketing strategies were primarily based on the teenage community. Advertising, E-retailing, Channeling, ,  Affiliation, Franchising, Subscription etc were some of the internet marketing approaches developed and implemented by Amazon management for exploiting the market opportunities. On the other hand, Borders committed so many strategic blunders which brought many challenges to the existence of the company. For example, â€Å"Borders made a major strategic error in 2001 when it handed off its online business to Amazon†(Wahba, 2011). Instead of exploiting the opportunities in online business, Borders tried to stay away from it. They thought... The essay "Amazon vs. Borders Books" talks about the activity and competition of two largest booksellers in the world. The paper analyzes why in different situations one of them was successful and the other one was a failure. Amazon.com is currently one of the topmost online booksellers in the world. It was started in the mid-1990s and was not profitable in the first few years. However, with innovative business strategies, it overcame the initial challenges and became the leader in online bookselling. On the other hand, Borders Books was the second largest bookseller in America. It was started in 1971. Until 2004, Borders faced little problems and was running profitable. However, after 2004, it started to face many management and business problems which forced them to file for Chapter 11 in 2011. The management of Amazon adapted wonderfully to the changing market conditions whereas Borders failed to do so. While Amazon was quick to realize the opportunities in online business, Borders failed to recognize it. Amazon has introduced customer friendly websites to attract the online customers whereas Borders relied heavily on the abilities of sales staff in selling their books from its store. Amazon produced innovative websites with the help of modern technologies to communicate effectively with the customers. Interactive components were some of the facilities available in amazon websites. Borders stayed completely away from its online customers and it was a major blunder committed by the company.