What is interesting about last year’s interbrand retail results is not the top 5, these continue to dominate, but more the move of the new tech retailers into the top 10 and the impact of one product, the Kindle.
In 2007, Amazon.com launched the Kindle device for ebooks, supporting ebook publication and sales from its position as the dominant online bookseller. In the second quarter of 2010, it reported sales of ebooks exceeded those of hardbacks for the first time. Focused on the customer since its inception, relevance is at the core of the brand and its execution. The retailer continues to penetrate into new categories and B2B services that support other retailers, where its business is more transactional and less brand driven than the company’s traditional market. As Amazon.com is often still associated with its early identity in books, it will be interesting to see if the addition of business services will blur the brand’s identity.
