Tag Archives: Amazon

MBA Not Prerequisite to CEO-dom

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A Good Think to Have
A Good Thing to Have

It would be hard to argue that having and MBA from a well-respected graduate school is not helpful in a businessman’s climb up the corporate ladder, it seems such a degree is not always necessary.

One startling example is the head of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. He has consistently taken his company higher in the rankings of the famed Fortune 500, without hair nor hide of an MBA. With just a BA from Princeton Bezos founded and nurtured Amazon to the rank of 35 on the Forbes list, not to mention making Amazon a household name-brand.

Also lacking an MBA is the CEO of Plains GP Holdings, Greg L. Armstrong. The company owns and operates storage facilities for natural gas and manages other businesses. Armstrong has directed his company to the 70th position on the Forbes 500.

Amazingly it turns out that less than half of the CEOs at the top 100 companies on the Forbes list actually have MBAs.

“To actually get in the C-suite, it’s a little bit like winning the lottery. Especially for a Fortune 100 company,” says David G. Rohlander, author of The CEO Code: Create a Great Company and Inspire People to Greatness with Practical Advice from an Experienced Executive.  “A pattern of successfully accomplishing your goals and an optimistic mindset are two of the most important traits for becoming a CEO,” he says.

Having an MBA might not guarantee a place at the head of a company, but it can certainly help an ambitious person to get ahead. Rohlander, who has an MBA in finance from California State University’s business school, says that earning an MBA is definitely “going to give you a better capability of thinking.”

Toys “R” Us Struggling to Play the Competition Game

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Toys R Us Posted Net Losses in 2013
Toys R Us Posted Net Losses in 2013

As the economy struggled in its continuing bid at recovery, Toys “R” Us took a lot of the brunt as sales plummeted in 2013. The giant toy store chain reported a net loss of $210 million during the fourth quarter of 2013 and a total loss of $1 billion for the year. The losses were blamed on fierce competition from on-line sellers such as Amazon, and discount department stores like Wal-Mart.

Earnings for 2012 totaled $239 million, accentuating the challenges of last year’s marketplace.

The private held retailer posted a decrease in same-store sales of 4.1 percent in the US and 2.2 percent internationally during the fourth quarter of 2013. Those figures are an important indicator of a retailer’s overall health, and they included the crucial holiday season.

“It was a challenging year, with declines in both our domestic and international segments,” CEO Antonio Urcelay said in a statement to investors.

“The U.S. business experienced the more significant downturn, primarily due to a decrease in net sales, margin pressure and one-time items, including the write-down of excess and obsolete inventory as we take the necessary and prudent steps to improve the business.”

Toys “R” Us did have a good year in China, however. As the Chinese economy continues to expand and more people are climbing the affluence ladder, there is more disposable income available to spend on children’s playthings.

So far this year things are looking up a bit for Toys “R” Us here at home. So far there has been a 3.5 percent increase in same-store sales in the US due to an increase in entertainment related toys connected to beloved movie franchises. Net sales for all of 2013 totaled $12.5 billion. That is $1 billion less, or 7.4 percent, from 2012.

Get It On Sunday to Your Mailbox

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amazonprimeAmazon Prime customers, those special patrons who pay a yearly fee to get free, two-day delivery, will now be able to include in the two-day count Sundays, beginning in the Los Angeles and New York City regions.

Amazon is working together with the US Postal Service to roll out this new service, with an eye to expansion into the Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix areas during the coming year.

“If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can order a backpack for your child on Friday and be packing it for them Sunday night,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide operations and customer service. “We’re excited that now every day is an Amazon delivery day and we know our Prime members, who voraciously shop on Amazon, will love the additional convenience they will experience as part of this new service.”

Amazon Prime customers need not do anything additional to get delivery on Sunday. When they add their purchases to their cart the Sunday delivery day option will pop open at checkout as soon as its available in the region they are shopping from.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon: Genius Businessman and Innovator

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Jeff BezosJeff Bezos is the CEO at Amazon, one of the most amazing companies to have emerged in the universe of on-line retailing. There is no question that he is a business genius, innovating and guiding his company to ever more successful approaches to customer service and sales.

Here are a few valuable quotes from Bezos showing just small bit of his acumen, giving us mere mortals some insight into how his mind works.

•    Do not rest on your laurels, as Bezos said, “A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny does not last.”

•    What is the driving force behind innovation? Bezos knows: “I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.”

•    On the importance of responding to customers and their needs: “If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.”

•    Afraid of criticism? That can harm your business: “If you never want to be criticized, for goodness’ sake don’t do anything new.”

Among Bezos’ other accomplishments, aside from his success at Amazon, is the purchase of the Washington Post for $250 million in early 2013; and the funding of the building of a 10,000-year clock inside a mountain in the Sierra Diablo Mountain Range in the West Texas desert.

Amazon Stock Hits Record as Business Expands

Investments,
Amazon Stocks Hit Record High

Despite posting a net loss for the second quarter of 2013, Amazon’s stock reached a new high point of $313.62, on Friday, and closed at $311.70, an increase of 2.7 percent.

The rise was fueled by fast expansion at home with profits in its domestic market also heading up.

“Their biggest market looks really healthy,” said Matt Nemer, an analyst at Wells Fargo.

Amazon is a giant on-line retailer which is in the midst of a re-make, trying to sell technology-based products such as tablets and cloud computing services to large corporations and even political entities, such as governments. It is making this change-over while simultaneously growing their overseas market in such places as China.

So far Amazon has spent billions on this new look which eats into earnings.  Never mind say investors, trusting the direction that chief Executive and Founder Jeff Bezos is taking them. They are confident that Bezos can pull it off and they will reap big future profits. Investor confidence is what is propelling Amazon’s stock to continue its upward climb.

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