Sales Are Colossal, Shares Are Soaring. All Amazon Is Missing Is a Profit

"Amazon will sell many more cookie dropping machines than I will, but even if you buy from me instead of Amazon it will earn a commission on the sale and the shipping,” said Hyo Lee, the owner of Commercial Food. “Now you know why Amazon’s sales have gone from $34 billion in 2010 to $61 billion in 2012.”     
Still, she noted that Amazon was building dozens of warehouses across the country and hiring tens of thousands of employees for them. “It has all these fixed costs now,” she said. “I think they’ll have to start charging more for shipping.” 

Read more at:   http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/technology/sales-are-colossal-shares-are-soaring-all-amazoncom-is-missing-is-a-profit.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&

Albeit its stock is at record high, Amazon lost money in 2012, and analysts anticipated another loss when the company released its third-quarter results last week. Even though its incredibly soaring sales, the company is missing profits.

 

Thus, do you think that the model of putting down profits for the sake of growth will be able to pay off for the company in the next future? 

And, if not, what could be Amazon possible alternatives in shifting and innovating its business model?"

Fixing BlackBerry Would Be Enormous Task for Lenovo

After putting itself up for sale in August, BlackBerry reportedly has a new interested buyer: Chinese tech behemoth Lenovo.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, reports that Lenovo is considering a bid to purchase the entirety of BlackBerry, the struggling handset maker that has seen its share of the market for smartphones plummet. Once the hottest hand in mobile devices, BlackBerry has seen its market share of smartphones dwindle to around 3% as Google and Apple have risen. Previous reports from Bloomberg and Reuters indicated that companies including SAP, Cisco, Samsung, and Google have been interested in buying BlackBerry in parts. Aside from devices, the company makes operating systems for distributed systems. Other interested parties reportedly include BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis and Cerberus Capital Management LP. BlackBerry and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., one of the company’s biggest shareholders, reached a preliminary buyout deal of $4.7 billion last month.

Read more at: http://business.time.com/2013/10/18/fixing-blackberry-would-be-enormous-task-for-lenovo/ 

1) If Lenovo acquires BlackBerry, how will the mobile-phone landscape change?

Monday 21st

Dear all,

prof. Boccardelli is going to receive students Monday 21st from 9 to 10 at room 305a, Viale Romania.

Have a good weekend

Aeroflot to Open Low-Cost Unit After EasyJet, Wizz Enter Russia

OAO Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, plans to establish a discount division at a cost of $100 million over two years after specialist no-frills operatorsEasyJet Plc (EZJ) and Wizz Air Ltd. targeted its home market. The Dobrolet unit will commence domestic services next spring using eight Boeing Co. (BA) 737-800 planes -- the same model employed by Ryanair Holdings Plc -- Aeroflot Chief Executive Officer Vitaly Savelyev told reporters in Moscow today.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-10/aeroflot-to-open-low-cost-unit-after-easyjet-wizz-enter-russia.html


This event recalls what management theorists usually define as a band-wagon effect or even an exchange of threat. In other words, once being attacked in your own territory you respond by imitating your competitors and/or by attacking them with their own "weapons". Previous attempts by established airlines to imitate low costs have almost always failed (ex. Song airline of Delta Air Lines).

Do you think Aeroflot will be successful in winning this game?
Is it sufficient for a differentiator like Aeroflot to simply copy an established low cost model (such as the Easyjet and the Ryanair ones)? 

Start me up - A cluster of start-ups in east London is thriving. All they need now is a big success

TO SPAWN the next Facebook or Twitter, first launch a start-up contest. Promise the winner a sizeable equity investment, say £1m ($1.6m), and let firms from all over the world compete. Among the entries there will surely be a hit. This is the idea behind the Million Pound Start-Up competition put together by Digital Shoreditch, an event organiser. More than 1,000 hopefuls from 77 countries have signed up.

Read the article at: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21587268-cluster-start-ups-east-london-thriving-all-they-need-now-big-success-start-me-up

Given the insights proposed by the article, what are the key drivers to succeed within a business ecosystem?
What have been the major trends start ups within the London Tech City had benefited?