Amazon has over thirty sister sites and companies founded or bought by its same owners. The company has been in existence for a very long time and has done a very good job at expanding its net worth. Amazon on its own is home to all kinds of goods and services it can trade online and has become one of the biggest online stores in the world. It has partnered with as many companies and retail vendors to achieve such a booming site. With great success as Amazon, the site proceeded to acquiring and creating many more sister companies.
In this article, we would be giving details of all the other companies that are owned by Amazon. We would also take a brief look into the history of the company and its achievements over the years. It is also important to check out the founders of company and learn a little about them. There are quite a number of companies but this article would try to do justice to their core information.
You can join us in reviewing these sister companies especially if are a good customer to Amazon or any of it subsidiaries. There would definitely be something new to learn about them. First, let’s meet the owner of Amazon and let’s learn a few things.
About the Owner
Amazon is currently owned by a 58-year old American Entrepreneur known as Jeffrey Preston Bezos. He is popularly known as Jeff Bezos. Jeff was born on the 12th of January, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. He had his basic, middle and high school in New Mexico and Houston, Texas. His original surname was Jorgensen but it was later changed to Bezos when his mother remarried a Cuban immigrant, known as Miguel Bezos. He grew up with his stepfather who moved all of them to Houston, Texas, where Jeff continued and completed high school. He attended Princeton University in 1986 where he bagged a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
He worked in different fields between 1986 and 1994 before he founded Amazon in late 1994. Amazon was casually founded on a road trip from New York to Seattle with his home garage as his office. The company began as an online bookstore but is now regarded as one of the biggest e-commerce stores in the world where almost everything can be bought online. After Amazon, Jeff became a household name and he has since acquired and developed many other companies. He founded the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital space flight in 2000, he co-founded biotechnology company Altos lab in 2021. He has a host of other companies like this.
According to Forbes, he had $224 billion dollars as at 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic. With a current net worth of $146 billion dollars, as at June 2022, Bezos is the second wealthiest man in the world.
About Amazon
Amazon was founded on a road trip from New York City to Seattle. It was Jeff Bezos’ first baby. Jeff discovered that the internet was fast growing and that it carried quite a number advantages with it. Therefore, after finishing from Princeton University and doing all sort of odd jobs for quite a year, he decided to map out a strategy to join the Internet movement. He started by writing the business plan for the company while he was on the road trip. He and his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, quit their jobs and decided to start up an online bookstore. Hence, Amazon started off as an online bookstore in a rented garage in 1994. It started in Bellevue on the 5th of Hulu, 1994.
Jeff took up the major roles while his wife concentrated on administrative roles that included writing checks, keeping tracks of books that came in and left and negotiating their early contracts. It was a joint force to move the store to greater heights. It was initially known as Cadabra but was later changed to Amazon. This was because he hoped that one day, the bookstore would be as large as the Amazon river, which was the largest in the world. Also, websites were usually listed alphabetically, so he wanted his own to be among the first that would appear once customers searched the web.
His first investment in the company was the summer of $300,000 from his parents. He initially had no interest in other investors because he didn’t think the company would survive so long. He began to make plans to include other products as things began to look better. By 1998, he included videos and music. By the end of the same year, he had added some consumer goods too. By the year 2000, he mustered courage to borrow up to $2 billion dollars from banks and invested in the business. He expanded further by including Amazon web services and Amazon Kindle. The company suffered a couple of setbacks that almost left to bankruptcy and even the layoff of some workforce. It bounced back and by October 2013, it became the largest online shopping store in the world.
Amazon is currently the biggest online sellers of numerous items that include Amazon music, prime videos, books, Echo and Alexa, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Kindle, Audible books and originals, Clothing, Shoe, Jewelry and Watches, Electronics, Office and School supplies, Gift Cards, App Store for Android, Movies, Music and Games, Computers, Home, Garden and Pets, Handmade, Beauty, Health and Personal Care, Food and Grocery, Toys, Kids and Baby, Sports, Outdoors, Automotive and Industrial, Home services and Amazon Subscription boxes.
It has an app on the Play store and IOS stores. On Play store, it currently has over 500,000,000 downloads and it requires about 62.28 MB to download. The app ratings is 4.2 stars and the age use is rated 12 years. The app was released on December 12, 2014.
How to Use.
- Download the app on your IOS or Play store. You can also use the website link amazon.com
- Create an account with your email address.
- Add your Debit card.
- Add your shipping address and phone number.
- Fill up required details for shipping purposes.
- You can begin shopping and adding to your cart.
- Once you are done shopping, move to your cart and pay for the items you picked.
- You would be given details of your product price, shipping fee, tracking ID and arrival date.
- You don’t have to logout, so you can simply open the app whenever you want to shop. The same thing works for the website.
Pros
- Amazon gives you multiple options to different products on the same site.
- The products are well arranged in sections, so you can make your choice easily.
- There are always available discounts on many products at different seasons of the year. You can lookout for such discounts and take the opportunity.
- Most rare products are always gotten on the site.
Cons
- Some customers have complained that items take time to reach them. This is mostly because of the numerous shipping the company has to do. It has a bulk of work.
- Express shipping is usually more expensive.
- Sometimes, there is usually no direct size on some products on the site.
Amazon Sister Companies.
Alphabetically, we would be discussing the sister companies acquired or created by Amazon. Here, we would get to know little facts about them that include their origin and use.
1, A9.com
A9.comis a subsidiary of Amazon company that was developed in 2003 and launched in 2004 for the sole purpose of producing technology for search and advertising. It is a search engine company to enable people find things online. It was launched in Palo, Alto, California in 2004. It was designed under the communications technology team. The company delved deep into search using images, alphabets, augmented reality, advertising technology and cloud search. The company worked as a search portal for the internet.
They were able to achieve a lot within the space of 2004 till 2019 when it was shut down due to allegations by Wall street. Its project included cloud search, open search, clickriver, blockview, visual search and advertising technology.
Pros
- The search was useful at the time to find items easily on the Internet.
- It was an easy way to search similar products visually.
Cons
- According to reviews, most search products favored Amazon and top companies.
- It is currently shut down.
Search website: a9.com
2. AbeBooks
The next subsidiary company is this AbeBooks. It is a website for used to sell fine art, books, collectibles, rare books, books that are out of print and textbooks. The site is a space where retailers with such books and works can pay a small amount to have their books sold. It was founded in 1995 and launched in 1996. The site was created by Rick and Vivian Pura and Cathy and Keith Waters. Initially, when the site started, it had only four bookstores but it has long expanded beyond that. It is now open to booksellers from over 50 countries. Their initial name was Advanced Book Exchange and it was later changed to AbeBooks. It has been a subsidiary of Amazon since 2008.
The site is a space for rare writings and art works and it is open to many sellers. It has some of the finest works till date. Its headquarters is in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It has a branch in Dusseldorf, Germany. It still functions till date.
Pros
- You can buy and sell unique and rare books on the site.
- The site serves as a bookstore to rare works for years.
Cons
- You have to pay some token to keep or get items from the store.
- It is available in limited countries.
Search website: www.abebooks.com
3, Alexa Internet
Alexa was created by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat in April 1996. The company was launched as a traffic analysis company to read traffic data, global rankings and other traffic information of over 30 million websites. The site which is popularly known as Alexa, could read data and information of as many online sites as possible. The site controlled a lot of information on these other sites. It was founded in 1996. The name Alexa, was chosen to honor the great Library of Alexandria of Ptolemaic Egypt. It was assumed that this library in the greatest keeper of knowledge in the ancient world and Alexa is the greatest in modern times. Therefore, they bore a great resemblance to each other. The company teamed up with Google in 2002 to do a better job.
It served the public for twenty-five good years with great rankings and multiple awards. It was solely owned by Amazon. It officially closed down in December 2021 and shut down all existing subscriptions in May, 2022.
Pros
- It controlled traffic ratings of over 30 million websites.
- It used installed Alexa scripts to deliver information.
- It used its traffic rank to monitor the popularity of websites. It was always ahead of others in this way.
Cons
- It had a lot of information over other websites.
Search Engine: alexa.com
4. Amazon Air
Amazon Air is a cargo airline that transports only Amazon products. It is the airline that the company uses to ship products to designated places. Its operations began in late 2015, when it was still known as Amazon Prime Air. It was changed to Amazon Air in 2017. Initially, when the airline began, it leased planes from independent Airlines to carry their shipping but as at 2021, it began considering other options of buying their own Airline. Even after buying theirs, they might still rely on others for maintenance, cabin crew and insurance.
Their main airport is the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport. The company uses ATR 72, Boeing 737 and Boeing 767 Aircrafts.
Pros
- The Aircrafts enhance speedy delivery of Amazon goods.
- It is an easy way to identify Amazon products only.
Cons
- There has been one accident so far since the inception of the company.
- The company still pays for some external aids.
Website: www.amazon.com/airplanes
5. Amazon Books
This website is an Amazon bookstore opened by the main brand. It included a chain of book retailers who sold their books for certain percentages on the website. When the store started, it had its first physical store in Seattle, where it had over five thousand books. The books were displayed with their front covers facing front. This was to show the author and book title visibly to the buyers. It consumed more space but it was a lot more lucrative. The store was launched in 2015 and it was home to many retail sellers. The first center was at the University Shopping center in Seattle, Washington. The store also sells other products like Amazon electronics that include the Amazon kindle e-book reader, the kindle fire tablet series, the Amazon echo and the Amazon fire TV.
The store currently has about twenty- four stores in the United States.
Pros
- The stores are for selling retail products, so any retail sellers can sell their books to the stores.
- The books are usually placed with the cover page facing forward for full view sake.
Cons
- They have limited stores. Most of the stores are in the US.
- The stores would all be closing soon.
Website link: https://amazon.com/amazonbooks
6. Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh was formerly known as Amazon Grocery. It was an online store where customers could shop for grocery items and have the delivered to their houses. It was done in the same way other Amazon products were done but this one was mainly for consumables. It was established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Amazon to take control of deliveries for such goods. It was later changed to Amazon Fresh in 2020. It had operations mostly in the US and in some popular cities such as Berlin, London, Milan, Rome, Tokyo, Hamburg, India and Spain.
As at 2017, they had a drive-in store where customers could come and pick up pre-ordered items. By 2020, they opened their first physical store in Los Angeles. They have since opened more physical stores in the US and Europe.
Pros
- You can have your items delivered to you or you can pick them up.
- The store supplies all kinds of groceries.
Cons
- All the items sold are credited to Amazon directly, not the seller.
Website link: https://fresh.amazon.com/
7. Amazon Games
Amazon Games was formerly known as Amazon Game Studios. It was established on August 7, 2012 with the headquarters in Seattle, Washington like all other Amazon products. The game studio was established as an online retailing company to sell video games that were produced within the company’s division. The company hired developers to create video games that would be sold on the site. The first games were launched in 2016. They were Breakaway, New world and Crucible. The brand has had quite a number of setbacks during production including resignation of key developers and failed attempts of some games.
So far, the brand has done well and has produced a number of games that include New world, Airport Mania; First flight, Air Patriots, Lucky’s escape, Living Classics, Tales from Deep Space, Sev Zero, The Unmaking, Lost Within, Lost Ark, Lord of the rings and many more.
Pros
- The games are solely for the Amazon brand.
- They are sometimes likened to popular movies, so they can be replayed visually.
Cons
- Some movies have been discontinued.
Website link: amazongames.com
8. Amazon Music
Amazon music is an online music streaming website where all kinds of music can be streamed. It is an online music store that was launched by Amazon in 2007. It was the first music store to sell without digital rights management from the top music labels. The store catered to providing different kinds of music tracks for a small fee by consumers. The store had licensed agreements with record labels to limit countries where the music can be sold. The store started officially in the YS and was later moved to the UK, Germany and France subsequently. It is currently available in over forty countries. It can be used on all IOS, Windows, Android, Alexa and MacOS devices. It is available as an application on all of these devices. The brand also has a smart watch available. The app still functions till date.
Pros
- Any type of music can be streamed on the app.
- Apple music allows a wide range of artists to sell their songs on the app.
Cons
- It is not available in all countries in the world.
- The music cannot be downloaded. It can only be streamed.
- It has fees attached to it.
Website link: music.amazon.com
9. Amazon Lab126
Amazon Lab126 is a research lab founded by Amazon for the purpose of research in computer hardware. It was originally founded by Gregg Zehr, who was a hardware Engineer. It started in the year 2004, at Sunnyvale, California. The lab is committed to researching and developing computer hardware especially for the brand. Most of the hardware that have been used by the brand were developed by this lab. Some of their products include Amazon Kindle, Fire Phone, Fire TV, Amazon Alexa and Amazon Echo. Their latest production is a brand of domestic robots released in 2021. The lab operates worldwide and has employed over 3,000 employees.
Pros
- The lab is solely dedicated to researching and developing computer hardware for the brand.
- They have developed a lot of hardware that have been used progressively.
Cons
- The lab is not being used for outside purposes.
- Some hardware have been discontinued or expired.
Search engine: lab126.com
10. Amazon Pharmacy
Amazon Pharmacy is Amazon’s online pharmacy where you can order medications with prescriptions. It is also the company’s first dive into the healthcare sector. It officially began in 2020. On the online store, you can get a delivery of medications after two days with proof of prescription. The store also has a chain of trained pharmacists who take care of the company. This store eases the stress of consumers because instead of looking for physical pharmacies, they can use the online store and there are pharmacists readily available to answer them. The online store is limited to the United States for now.
Pros
- It is a free delivery store.
- Customers can speak to pharmacists.
- It is compulsory to get a Doctor’s prescription before medications can be issued.
Cons
- Sometimes, it is hard to get the doctor’s issue a prescription directly to the site because most hospitals already have affiliated pharmacies.
- Also, customers usually request to speak with the pharmacists physically.
Website: pharmacy.amazon.com
11. Amazon Publishing
Amazon Publishing is a publishing company developed by Amazon for publishing books. The company has up to 15 imprints that include Amazon Encore, Amazon Crossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas and Mercer, Topple books, 47North and Lake Union. The company is headed by Mikyla Bruder and David Blum and the headquarters is currently in Seattle, Washington. The company started operations in 2009 and every year since then, the company has been publishing books under its different imprints.
Pros
- The books are published under all publishing and editing compliances. There are available editors to proof- read the books.
Cons
- Some people have complained that books produced and published by this publishing brand do not perform as well as they expected them to. Also, book auctions rarely have any audience.
- Recently, there has been lack of editors.
Website: https://amazonpublishing.amazon.com/
12. Amazon Robotics
Amazon robotics as the name implies is a robotics company created by Amazon to help design robotic system. It started as Kiva Systems and it was founded and owned by Mick Mountz. The company was initially in charge of creating automatic and retrieval systems for various companies like Walgreens, Staples, Gilt Groupe, Office Depot, Crate and Barrel and Saks 5th Avenue. The company has contract deals with them up until 2012 when Amazon bought the company and made it a full subsidiary. It was bought at $775 million, which was Amazon’s second largest acquisition. It became a sole brand for purposes initiated by Amazon only. It changed its name to Amazon Robotics LLC in 2015. They currently have over 20,000 robots working for them.
Pros
- The robots are designed to function for Amazon jobs only. They were in charge of moving products from one place to another within specified limits.
- It reduces logistics workload on human workers.
Cons
- In future, it might lead to massive unemployment of Amazon workers in various fields.
13. Amazon Studios
This studios started in 2010 for the purpose of producing TV series and films in the United States. The studios’ initial focus was on TV series and film production in a particular place. These movies were distributed to be streamed on Amazon Prime video, a movie streaming app developed by Amazon. It is also to be distributed using movies theaters. Most times, scripts for movies are usually submitted by random people, then the studio team take the job of reading and scanning it to check if it is movie-worthy. The movie is reviewed within 90 days or longer and if it is chosen, the script writer is paid $10,000 dollars. If it is a full budget movie, the creator is paid $200,000 and if it is a full-budget series, the creator is paid $55,000 and 5% of Amazon’s net receipts from toy and t-shirt licensing, including bonuses and royalties.
The studio no longer accepts script submissions online. It is in charge of it’s productions now. Some of their productions include Transparent, The Salesman, Manchester by the Sea, Wonder Wheel and many others. The studio now distributes its movies independently on its own.
Pros
- Strict production work is put into the productions.
- The movies are usually streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
Cons
- Initial scriptwriters were paid off and production were handled by Amazon.
- The only way to see the productions now is on Amazon Prime Video.
Website: studios.amazon.com
14. Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is also known as Prime Video. It is a streaming site for originals of movies and series that have been produced by the Amazon studios. On the site, after subscribing for a certain amount and with data charges, users can have free access to unlimited movies that are available. Amazon prime video is the official streaming site for movies and series produced by Amazon. Their services include Television production, Television distribution, Film production and Film distribution. It is available for consumers worldwide except in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Mainland China, Cuba and Syria.
Pros
- There are unlimited movies and series on the website.
- It allows some content from other providers.
Cons
- The movies and series shown are produced by Amazon alone.
- It requires active subscription and high data usage.
URL: primevideo.com
15. AWS
This is the acronym for Amazon Web Service. It is a web service that provides on-demand cloud computing services and APIs to companies and individuals. The Web service was founded in 2000 and started in operations on web services in 2002 while it started cloud computing in 2006. The services are delivered to consumers through AWS Server fans that are located in different parts of the world. The payment is usually charged by the amount of service usage on a pay-as-you-go model. Their products and services include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, Amazon Simple Storage Service, Amazon Connect and AWS Lambda.
Pros
- It is available globally.
- They have numerous functions that include computing, data storage, networking, database, analytics, developer tools, management and many more.
Cons
- It has access to data base of individuals and companies which can be misused at any point.
URL: aws.amazon.com
16. Audible
Audible is an audio book service provided by Amazon. It was established in the year 1995. The first thing that was produced by the company was a portable media player known as the Audible Media Player. It could hold up to two hours of audio. It has about 4 MB of flash memory storage. To use the player, consumers would download the audio book from the Audible website and put it onto the player to listen. This became null after a few years. By 1999, Microsoft invested about $11 million into the company for better production. In 2008, Amazon purchased the company from its founder and started producing exclusive science fiction and fantasy audio books. They currently have over 200,000 audio books from different publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazines and business information providers.
Consumers purchase books on the site and once it is purchased, it remains in the person’s library for as long as desired. All files are accessible by listening.
Pros
- Once a title has been bought by a consumer, it remains on the library permanently.
- The only way to access files is by listening.
Cons
- Audible might not allow a listener skip certain words or phrases. It relates everything as it is.
Website: https://www.audible.com/
17. Body Labs.
This is a software company that was founded in 2013 and is based in Manhattan. The company is designed to provide human-aware artificial intelligence. Therefore, it is an AI company that produces software that understands the human body, shape and motion in 3D. These software are gotten from photos and videos. The founders were William J. O’ Farrell, Michael J. Black, Eric Rachlin and Alex Weiss. Amazon purchased the company in 2017. Their products include Body Kit, Body Labs Blue, Body Labs Red, Mosh Mobile App and SOMA; Human-Aware AI.
Pros
- The brand is committed to artificial intelligence to produce human models to ease workload.
Cons
- Such projects can ultimately lead to loss of human labor.
18. Book Depository
The Book Depository was formerly known as The Book Depository. It was founded by an employee of Amazon in 2004 but was later bought by Amazon in 2011. The purpose of the Book Depository was to make books available to people worldwide at no shipping cost. It is a bookselling and online shopping bookstore. It is home to many books because it has a large catalogue. It ships to over 160 countries. The Book Depository is based in the UK. The idea is the make books available to people in any part of the world. The site operates with English language. So far, they have been able to generate up to £69 million in Revenue.
Pros
- The books from the store are shipped out worldwide at no cost at all.
- It is mainly for book selling purpose.
Cons
- It operates from only one part of the world.
Website: bookdepository.com
19. ComiXology
ComiXology was founded in 2007 by David Steinberger, John Roberts and Peter Jaffe. It is an online comics center where you can read all types of comics. These comics are usually on the website but can be accessed after subscription. The site is a cloud bases platform for digital comics. It offers thousands of issues to its subscribers. Once you subscribe a certain amount, you have unlimited access to different types of digital comics. They have produced both graphic comics and simple comic books. Some of their products include Pull List, ComiXology.com, Comic by ComiXology and retailer tools. Some titles include Image comics, Dark horse, Dynamite Entertainment, Oni Press, Valiant Entertainment, Archie Comics, Aspen Comics and many others.
The company is currently blended with Amazon Kindle and operates as one.
Pros
- There are numerous types of comics to read on the site.
- The access is unlimited once a user subscribes.
Cons
- There has been a few delays and controversies regarding production and distribution.
- Also, there were some unfiltered gender-based drawings that have caused issues in the past.
Website: www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/comics-store/home
20. Digital Photography Review.
This is also known as DPReview. It is a website where Digital cameras, digital photography, lenses, accessories and everything concerning photography are being reviewed. It is home to reviews of various photography items. It also has buying and combination guides for cameras and lenses. This site was created in London in November, 1998. It was later moved to Amazon headquarters in Seattle in 2010. The website is a review center for all photography items. On the website, you can get short and precise reviews for what you might want to buy. It can include prices, design, use and durability. The website usually has discussion forums for some items where people can publicly reviews items. The company was initially owned by Philip and Joanna Askey but was later bought by Amazon in 2007.
Pros
- There would always be great reviews for photography items that are in vogue.
- Each review is usually reviewed over an over again.
Cons
- There are usually different review ideas.
Website: http://www.dpreview.com/
21. Goodreads
Goodreads was created in 2006 by Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler. The initial idea was for people to write reviews on books they had read. Later on, it became a place where people could find books they had always wanted to read. The website started of with 650,000 members and over 10,000,000 books. Over the years, the numbers tripled by millions. By March 2013, the site was bought by Amazon. On the site, users are allowed to sign up and create accounts so they can have access to as many books as possible. They can also create their own library of books and choose the kind of books they want in their library.
So far, Goodreads has gotten up to 50 million user reviews.
Pros
- It is available as an application on IOS and Play Stores.
- Once a user subscribes once, you have unlimited access to books.
Cons
- Critics claim that the discoverability level of books is quite low and that the site can do better in terms of digitalization.
Website link: https://goodreads.com/
22. Graphiq
This is a website owned by Amazon that uses artificial intelligence to create info-graphics. The website was launched in 2009 by Kevin J. Conor. It was initially known as FindTheBest. The website covered different areas that include health, sports, education and business. It was bought by Amazon in 2017 at an estimated $50 million.
Pros
- It can be used by content creators and publishers.
Cons
- It is no longer available for new publishers.
URL: http://graphiq.com/
23. IMDb
This is a short form for Internet Movie Database. It is a website that stores all information about movies, from their production details to reviews of released movies. The site started as a fan site where fans could drop their movies reviews and discuss the movies and its characters. It was created by an English fan of a particular movie; Those Eyes. Hewas a computer programmer. He created the site in 1990 and after reviewing the first movie, he went on to many more. In 1998, Amazon bought the company for $55 million and added a subscription service. This meant that the site would now be paid for by users to have access to the movies on it. It took on more responsibilities like film production, box office and company directory. The site now caters to database information on movies, TV series, video games, movie summaries, biographies of cast and crew, trivia, ratings and fans review.
Pros
- One major advantage of the site is that you would always get ample information about a movie.
- Subscription allows unlimited access for users. It also comes with user incentives.
Cons
- It is open to only subscribers.
Website: https://www.imdb.com/
24. MGM Holdings
MGM Holdings is the parent company of MGM studios that is well known for many movies and animations productions. A popular example would be the Tom and Jerry animations. The company started way back in 2005. It has been owned by series of companies since then and has experienced bankruptcy at some point. It was acquired by Amazon in 2022, after the negotiation started in 2020 due to setbacks caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic. The company is in charge of movie products. Its two major products are Motion Pictures and Television Programs. The company has generated a revenue of about $1.3 billion. They currently operate at an income of $238 million. Their major subsidiary is Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios.
Pros
- It is available for mass media and entertainment purposes worldwide.
- They have produced numerous movies and TV programmes over the years.
Cons
- The company suffered bankruptcy at some point and it led to the laying off of some workers and acquisition of the company by its creditors.
Website: www.mgm.com
25. PillPack
This is another healthcare subsidiary of Amazon. Like Amazon Pharmacy, this is another pharmacy based in Manchester, New Hampshire. This one was created and launched in 2013 by Amazon. It was started by T.J Parker and Elliott Cohen. As at 2014, the company could only in 31 states to deliver medications to users. These medications were packaged by robots. It is an online retail pharmaceutical store. Users must submit prescription before medications can be sent out. The company was bought by Amazon in 2018 for $753 million.
Pros
- The company supplies medications to users in delivery forms.
- They partner with big medical companies to supply scarce medicines.
Cons
- The company has been misinterpreted as a physical store.
Website: pillpack.com
26. Ring
Ring is a home security and smart home product company that sells home security gadgets that include surveillance cameras, smart doorbells and a data footage app. These essentials are designed by the company for the sake of keeping the home safe from intruders and break-ins. The company has designed an app that also allows you monitor your surroundings from you phone and gives you visual information on what goes on around your home, especially in your absence. The website is home to original door bells that are automated. It was founded in 2013 by Jamie Siminoff and it was acquired by Amazon in 2018. The company’s major products are home alarm systems, surveillance cameras and smart doorbells.
Pros
- It is a great security system company that caters to the need of the home.
- You can control your cameras and bells through an app on your mobile device.
Cons
- People have complained that the partnerships with law enforcement agencies is a breach of privacy rights.
Website: www.ring.com
27. Souq
Souq was the largest online store in the United Arab Emirates before its acquisition by Amazon. Just like Amazon, it was home to different types of products and consumables and its customers were mainly those in the Arab nations as it has had its headquarters in Dubai, UAE. The company was created by Ronaldo Mouchawar. The company was an online store that sold various items in beauty and care, consumer electronics, fashion, household goods and baby. The site was officially acquired by Amazon in 2017. The name was gradually changed from Souq.com to Amazon. For UAE, it is known as Amazon.ae, for Egypt, it is known as Amazon.eg and for KSA, it became Amazon.sa. It is no longer known as Souq.com in any of the Arab countries. It serves Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Pros
- Amazon smartly purchased the biggest e-commerce store for the UAE and rapidly changed operations to theirs. The good thing is that nothing was lost but things became slightly different.
- Whatever is available on the main Amazon site is also available on Souq.
Cons
- It is strictly for those in the Arab Emirates and the language is not English.
Websites: www.souq.com
: amazon.ae
: amazon.eg
: amazon.sa
28. Twitch
Twitch is an online live-streaming site for video games. It also allows you stream broadcasts of competitions, music broadcasts and real-life streams. The site keeps you up-to-date with live updates of these broadcasts, especially video games. It also houses rare and unpublished games for its users. The site was created in 2011 by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, Kyle Vogt and Kevin Lin. The website was coined out of a general-interest streaming TV known as Justin TV. As at October 2013, the site had more than 45 million viewers. The content could be viewed as a live video or a video on demand. In 2014, it was bought by Amazon for $970 million and it was being operated in the same way as Amazon Prime.
Pros
- It had readily available video games on demand.
- With paid subscription, users could access unlimited content.
- There was access to individual player streams and games talk shows.
Cons
- It concentrates mostly on video game streaming.
- Some users misused the streaming site to live stream improper content.
Website: twitch.tv
29. Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods market is another consumer store of Amazon that provides and delivers products that are free from hydrogenated fats, colors, preservatives and artificial contents. This a wholesome organic store. This store is a subsidiary of Amazon that was created in 1980 but was acquired by Amazon in 2017. Their headquarters is in Austin, Texas. The company has been in existence for over four decades and has been operating as a grocery store that supplies strict healthy products to consumers. It currently has physical locations in over 500 places, its major countries being the US, UK and Canada. They are in charge of deliveries also.
Pros
- This company supplies users with only organic products.
- It has been in existence for years now and as such can be trusted.
Cons
- Their preservation culture for the organic foods have been criticized by a lot of people as being artificial, even if their policies state otherwise.
Website: www.wholefoodsmarket.com
30. Woot!
Woot! is an online store that sells electronics, T-shirts, wine, children’s items and household goods. The site has a unique style of selling. Only one item is usually on sale for each day. This item is usually displayed online until the stock of it is sold out. This means that until that item is sold out , there won’t be a replacement. Their motto is, “One day, One deal”. This allows the site to finish selling out. Even if they don’t sell out, once the time elapses, it is replaced with another item. Before Amazon took over the company in 2010, once a product is sold out before its time, it would not be replaced till midnight. After Amazon took over, the replacement became as immediate as it was sold out.
Pros
- Customers have access to shopping a particular product for twenty-four hours. This means that the item would always be available except it is sold out.
Cons
- A huge disadvantage is that customers cannot buy more than three items on the site. It is limited.
Website: http://www.woot.com/
31. Zappos
Zappos is an online store for shoes and clothing. It was formerly known as Shoesite.com. It was founded in 1999 as an online clothing and shoe retailer store by Nick Swinmurn. The company was bought by Amazon in July, 2009. The company initially catered to sales of different kinds of shoes but later expanded to clothes, accessories and handbags because it was estimated that they would bring in more revenue. The headquarters is in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pros
- The company specializes in sales and deliveries of Eye wears, clothing, shoes and handbags.
Cons
- It is strictly for these products only. You cannot shop any other type of clothing that is not on their list.
Website: zappos.com
32. Zoox
Zoox is an automotive subsidiary of Amazon. It was founded in 2014 by Tim Kentley-Klay and Jessie Levinson. Its headquarters is in Foster City, California and branches in San Francisco Bay and Seattle. The company creates self-driving cars. The company’s products originated out of a self-driving technology that was being developed in Stanford University by one of the founders. The technology came into use when the founders decided to team up to produce something worthwhile. The name ‘Zoox’ originated from a marine organism that depends on renewable energy to survive. The company has built a self-driving car that is electronically powered and can drive up to 75 mph.
Pros
- The company targets a robo-taxi era where all automobiles will be driven by themselves.
Cons
- There is an unhealthy competition between Zoox and Tesla, another automotive company. Allegations and blames have been made on plan and employee theft.
Website: www.zoox.com
Summary
Amazon has proven to be among the world’s most advanced enterprises with million-dollar purchases of many companies. The company has directed its focus on creating a technological space for its consumers with all it purchases, creations and modern-day advancement. From these reviews, we can see active efforts that have been made and that is still being made by the company to broaden its horizon. It is quite commendable. The company can now boast of full involvement in the healthcare, beauty, tech, automotive, educational and various forms of commercial sectors in the world.
These subsidiaries are also doing great independently as Amazon continuously puts in efforts to keep them afloat, irrespective of the big brand name. Although, some critics might say the company is headed for monopoly, we must commend the strong efforts at making the world a global market in the snap of a finger.
In summary, expansion in acquisition and creation is a genuine way to show improvement and Amazon has done a great deal to improve their company since inception.