Company’s Objective: The Company aspires to be ‘earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Company’s Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Well Known Global Brand Amazon is a well-known brand in online retailing. The reach of the internet knows no boundaries, therefore amazon.com diversified in a range of products, which further helped in strengthening its image internationally. A strong brand image helps in taking on the competition and also provides a competitive edge to the company in the online retail industry and helps in attracting more dedicated as well as curious customer traffic. Amazon’s ranking amongst the top 100 global brands ranking has consistently improved over the years from 68 in 2005 to 65 in 2006 and 62 in the year 2007. The company registered similar improvements in its brand value from $4,248 million in 2005 to $4,707 million in 2006 and subsequently to $5,411 in 2007. Amazon has put a lot of effort into the personalization of the online shopping experience. The online search-find-obtain experience is one such innovation from Amazon.com. To further strengthen the brand value, the company has started exploring overseas markets as well. It has a good localized presence in Canada, France, Germany, China, Japan, and the UK. Tie-up with other Reputed Brands Amazon has entered into partnership agreements with other reputed brands like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Blackberry, Casio, Fuji, HP, Olympus, etc. which not only makes it a reliable online marketplace but establishes it as a company offering quality at reasonable prices. Unique Business Model The online retailer operates on a unique business model which enables buyers and sellers to interact over safe technology platforms. Such interaction helps in saving transaction costs as no intermediaries are present. Such an arrangement works quite perfectly for products that are otherwise very difficult to find in the marketplace e.g. vintage products, end-of-life products, etc. Focus on R&D Amazon has a dedicated team of professionals, and a good amount earmarked for research and development activities. During 2006, the company invested about $662 million in R&D with a consistent increase in the amount over the years. This helps the company in maintaining its leadership position in the market. Weaknesses   * Declining profit margins: The operating profit margins of the company saw a declining trend over the last couple of years. Though there are some indications of improvement in the year 2007, the situation remains grim in view of increasing competition and cost pressure.   * Weak performance in some promising markets: Though Amazon.com diversified in a couple of markets outside the US by entering into strategic tie-ups and acquisitions, the picture is not that rosy as it was visualized. For example, Company entered the Chinese market by acquiring Joyo.com in 2004, but the competition became more prominent from another domestic player dangdang.com in China. China, having a huge customer base, is stated to be a market full of promises, and China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) also states that online shopping in the country is expected to grow by 190% in the coming year. But, Joyo.com has