Amazon.com, the online provider of most everything, is buying Zappos.com, the online shoe retailer. The deal is said to be worth about $850 million -- $807 million in stock and about $40 million in cash and stock to Zappos workers.
If this is reminiscent of the deals that were being done during the ‘90’s theres no surprise there. The only difference between a lot of those and this one is that the values of the two entities fit like a hand-made shoe.
Both online entities are known for building communities, and loyal communities at that, and both have imbued their brands with levels of customer service that actually exceed expectations. That’s a tough thing to do in any economy, but especially in one where what a brand believably stands for has become a surrogate for real value.
There’s an old business adage that goes “Always put yourself in others' shoes. If it hurts you, it will probably hurt the other person, too.” The same is true about brand acquisitions, because if the brand values don’t fit, customers will just walk away.
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