無情輾壓競爭對手,穩固零售市場主導地位,
是否違反了反壟斷原則?政府應當管束企業巨頭?
Amazon擁有龐大的規模、難以抗衡的影響力,和跨業種的銷售數據,其商業策略和服務條款,是否已違反了反壟斷原則?通路競爭下,消費者永遠是最大的贏家?
華爾街日報資深記者達娜.馬提奧利(Dana Mattioli)堪稱是全世界最了解Amazon的媒體人之一,她自2019年以來圍繞著電商巨擘Amazon撰述數篇報導,分別獲得普立茲調查性報導獎 (Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting)決選、羅布獎(Gerald Loeb Award)等大獎肯定。
作者與Amazon員工、管理階層,以及相關政府官員進行了數百次的訪談,第一手揭露Amazon征服市場的商戰手法和細節,寫下充滿內幕的商業故事。例如:Amazon為攻下尿布的零售市場祭出不合理的流血價,不惜單月吸收兩億美元的毛損,致使競爭對手瀕臨破產,並要脅對方接受其收購出價,無情輾壓對手的商業手段令人不安,而Amazon一旦成為該品類霸主後,就會提高價格,以確保企業自身獲利。
書中提及的莉娜.可汗(Lina Khan),在耶魯法學院就讀博士班時,就發表引起關注的〈亞馬遜的反壟斷悖論〉(Amazon's Antitrust Paradox),幾年後,她成為美國聯邦貿易委員會(FTC)主席,2023年美國聯邦貿易委員會對Amazon提起了壟斷訴訟,可能成為21世紀最大的反壟斷案。本書闡述了Amazon和「商業模式壟斷」的影響力,以及這起訴訟的重要意義,並引領我們思考:政府是否應當、且可以如何管束勢力越來越龐大的企業巨頭。(文/博客來編譯)
Most Anticipated by Foreign Policy - Globe and Mail - Publishers Weekly - Next Big Idea Club Must Read April Books
"Will stand as a classic." - Christopher Leonard
"Riveting, shocking, and full of revelations." - Bryan Burrough
From veteran Amazon reporter for The Wall Street Journal, The Everything War is the first untold, devastating exposé of Amazon’s endless strategic greed, from destroying Main Street to remaking corporate power, in pursuit of total domination, by any means necessary.
In 2017, Lina Khan published a paper that accused Amazon of being a monopoly, having grown so large, and embedded in so many industries, it was akin to a modern-day Standard Oil. Unlike Rockefeller’s empire, however, Bezos’s company had grown voraciously without much scrutiny. In fact, for over twenty years, Amazon had emerged as a Wall Street darling and its "customer obsession" approach made it indelibly attractive to consumers across the globe. But the company was not benevolent; it operated in ways that ensured it stayed on top. Lina Khan’s paper would light a fire in Washington, and in a matter of years, she would become the head of the FTC. In 2023, the FTC filed a monopoly lawsuit against Amazon in what may become one of the largest antitrust cases in the 21st century.
With unparalleled access, and having interviewed hundreds of people - from Amazon executives to competitors to small businesses who rely on its marketplace to survive - Mattioli exposes how Amazon was driven by a competitive edge to dominate every industry it entered, bulldozed all who stood in its way, reshaped the retail landscape, transformed how Wall Street evaluates companies, and altered the very nature of the global economy. It has come to control most of online retail, and uses its own sellers’ data to compete with them through Amazon’s own private label brands. Millions of companies and governmental agencies use AWS, paying hefty fees for the service. And, the company has purposefully avoided collecting taxes for years, exploited partners, and even copied competitors--leveraging its power to extract whatever it can, at any cost. It has continued to gain market share in disparate areas, from media to logistics and beyond. Most companies dominate one or two industries; Amazon now leads in several. And all of this was by design.
The Everything War is the definitive, inside story of how it grew into one of the most powerful and feared companies in the world - and why this lawsuit opens a window into the most consequential business story of our times.