decade, the market capitalization of the retail icons of the twentieth
century—from Macy’s to JCPenney’s—has ranged from awful to
disastrous. There is a finite amount of capital invested in each sector,
and Amazon’s vision and execution has soaked up the preponderance
of that investment. The result is a once-populous sector that is being
ravaged and depopulated by a single player.
Lindsey, Kelsey. “Why the Flash Sale Boom May Be Over—And What’s Next.” RetailDIVE.
Because we live in a culture of consumption, the natural trajectory
of retail is up. So, when the planets align and a new concept works, it
can scale rapidly and create tremendous value for consumers and
shareholders. Walmart really did give people access to a better, or at
least more material, life. And you really can feel better about yourself
wearing Zara Silver Patent Platform Oxfords and making juice in a
Breville Juice Fountain from Williams-Sonoma.
The difference this time is that this value has been created with
unprecedented speed by a single company, because, being virtual,
Amazon can scale to hundreds of millions of customers, and scale