Does Amazon Own Zappos? (Here Is The Real Truth)

To reduce competition and increase its customer base, Amazon has made acquisitions of smaller competitor companies. Many people, therefore, wonder if Amazon acquired Zappos. So let's take a look!

If you love shopping for shoes online, you might be familiar with Zappos. Many consider Zappos as one of the companies with the best customer service. With shopping benefits such as free shipping, which makes the process risk-free and as easy as possible for the customer, Zappos has captured the attention of many online shoppers. Given that Amazon has a reputation for acquiring small competitor companies, you may wonder if Amazon owns Zappos via a previous acquisition. Please read on if you'd love to learn more about the topic.

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Does Amazon Own Zappos?

The answer to the question is Yes. Amazon acquired Zappos in 2009 for $1.2 Billion. But even though Amazon owns Zappos, Zappos continues to operate as an independent company offering a wide range of shoe styles and brands.

Why Did Amazon Buy Zappos?

Several factors led to the acquisition of Zappos by Amazon. The CEOs of both companies saw the acquisition as a great deal that would benefit both companies. Jeff Bezos saw an excellent opportunity for both companies to learn from each other. Toney Hseih, on the other hand, saw the acquisition as a huge opportunity to utilize both company’s strengths and the company's vision forward.

Before Amazon acquired Zappos, Amazon had tried without much success to create its shoe retailing platform “Endless.com.” The platform was not getting much traction, however. On the other hand, Zappos showed exponential growth over the years. Zappos has also made it to the “Top 500” list to position 34. Amazon, therefore, sought to acquire Zappos and abandon its product, “Endless.com.”

After Amazon acquired Zappos, Zappos would operate as an independent company. This would allow Zappos to reach its financial targets and maintain its working philosophy. Zappos’ revenue grew tremendously due to its new affiliation with Amazon. Zappos reached its first $2 Billion in revenue. The company has become a large online retail store where customers can get various shoes, clothing, and accessories. However, many Zappos customers do not realize that Amazon owns Zappos.

Brief History Of Zappos

Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn. The initial project was just an online shoe store under the domain shoesite.com. Shortly after its inception, the company's name was changed to Zappos. The company name, Zappos, came from the Spanish word “Zapatos,” which means shoes. As of 2022, Zappos has diversified its inventory of products sold. Zappos now retails products such as handbags, sunglasses, jewelry, and accessories for men, women, and kids.

Nevertheless, shoes are still the primary product that Zappos retails. In fact, Zappos maintains thousands of shoe styles and brands, including top brands such as New Balance, Converse, Nike, and Adidas.

If you like shopping for shoes online, you might get just the perfect shoe at Zappos.

Zappos Culture and Tradition Quality

Zappos has a philosophy of offering the best customer service and employee-focused culture. The culture at Zappos can be attributed to the former CEO, Toney Hsein. Toney was the writer of the best-selling autobiography “Delivering Happiness.” In his book, Toney pointed out his way of life and ways of delivering happiness to customers, among other things. Unfortunately, Toney died in November of 2022. After taking over, the incoming CEO Kidar Deshpande still maintained the philosophy as part of Zappos culture.

Other Companies Owned By Amazon

Amazon has made several acquisitions in the past to boost its standings in more areas other than retail. Amazon has made more than 100 acquisitions of other companies and invested in many companies. Given that Zappos was one of the earlier acquisitions that Amazon has made, Amazon has made more expensive and more significant acquisitions since then. Perhaps most notably, Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017. This was Amazon’s largest acquisition and cost Amazon $13.7 billion.

Other notable acquisitions include that of the autonomous vehicle company Zoox in 2020. Amazon spent $1.2 billion on Zoox, which develops self-driving ride-sharing services. Amazon also made other acquisitions that include: smart doorbell maker Ring for $839 million in 2018, the video game streaming platform, Twitch for $979 million in 2014, online pharmacist PhillPark for $753 million in 2018, robotic company Kiva Systems for $775 million and Quidsi which is the parent company of Diapers.com.

Amazon has also increased its market share in the book industry. It has achieved this by acquiring companies such as, Audible for $300 million in 2008, the book publisher Avalon Books in 2012 for an undisclosed amount, and the social network Goodreads in 2013 for an undisclosed amount.

By making the acquisitions, Amazon has diversified its operations into various sectors such as entertainment, consumer electronics, and technology services. The practice of large companies such as Amazon acquiring smaller companies has been criticized by lawmakers who have accused the companies of having anti-competitive behavior by buying up the smaller competitors.

Botton Line

Amazon acquired Zappos in 2009 for $1.2 Billion. After the acquisition, Amazon became the sole owner of Zappos. Nevertheless, Zappos continued to operate as an independent company to meet its financial targets and continue with its philosophy of having a work ethic, unique culture, and excellent customer service. Zappos had tremendous growth due to its new affiliation with Amazon. Apart from Zappos, Amazon has made numerous acquisitions of competitor companies.

Such companies include Whole Foods, Zoox, Ring, Twitch, and PillPark. Amazon has, however, been criticized for having anti-competitor behavior by buying smaller competitor companies. Many people do not realize that Amazon owns Zappos because Zappos operates independently of Amazon.