Amazon's Business Foundation: SWOT, Target Market & Recommendations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Amazon.com Inc.'s business foundation, focusing on its internal and external environments. It begins with an overview of the company, including its history, products, and services. The report then presents a SWOT analysis of Amazon's operations in India, examining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The analysis considers factors such as the competitive landscape, technological reliance, and market opportunities. Based on the analysis, the report offers recommendations for Amazon, including strategies for targeting specific customer segments, introducing new products, and enhancing customer value. Specifically, the report suggests a new streaming service tailored to the entertainment needs of Indian consumers. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and emphasizes the potential for Amazon to succeed in the Indian market with effective strategies.

Running head: BUSINESS FOUNDATION
Business Foundation
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary
This report will discuss about the “internal and the external environment of the business
organizations as well as companies” and their importance to the business process of the
concerned organization. For this particular purpose the report will analyze the company
Amazon and its business process. The report will begin by describing the nature of the
company and its related details. Furthermore, the report will also discuss about the SWOT
analysis of the company in the nation of India. Lastly, the report will provide some
recommendations for the company.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
“Amazon.com Inc.”....................................................................................................................3
Market Description.....................................................................................................................5
SWOT Table..............................................................................................................................5
“Analysis of the SWOT Table”..................................................................................................7
Recommendations......................................................................................................................8
Target Market.........................................................................................................................8
New product description........................................................................................................8
Customer value proposition...................................................................................................8
Justification of the choice.......................................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The business environment in the present times has changed drastically due to the
“recent developments in the field of technology as well as innovations and also on the score
of the changing status quo of the world” (Hilton & Platt 2013). Therefore, it becomes very
important for the various business organizations to undertake an “analysis of the internal as
well as the external environments in which they operate” (Hilton & Platt 2013). This will
help the various business organizations not only to get an idea about the about the various
strengths as well as the weaknesses of their own organization but would also reveal a lot of
valuable information about the key competencies of their business (Armstrong et al. 2015). It
is often seen that the results of these analysis also helps them to develop various strategies
which will help them “not only to outrival their competitors in the business market operating
in the same field but would also enable them to bring about the overall growth as well as the
development of their business organization” (Armstrong et al. 2015). This report will focus
on the “internal as well as the external analysis of the company Amazon.com Inc”.
“Amazon.com Inc.”
The business organization “Amazon.com Inc” was founded in the year 1994 by Jeff
Bezos and in the present times has emerged as one of the major business organizations of the
world (Amazon.com.au. 2018). The business organization under consideration here more
commonly known by the name of Amazon is “an American electronic commerce and cloud
computing company which based in Seattle, Washington” (Amazon.com.au. 2018). However,
presently the company is operational in most of the nations of the world and “is the largest
Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization, and second
largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales” (Amazon.com.au. 2018). The organization
under consideration here offers a range of products as well as services to the customers

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starting from e-books to “video downloads/streaming, MP3 downloads/streaming, audiobook
downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and
jewelry” (Amazon.com.au. 2018). Furthermore, the organization also has its own music and
video streaming platforms where the customers can take yearly subscriptions to avail the
services offered by the company under consideration here (Amazon.com.au. 2018). In
addition to these, the company under consideration here “also produces consumer electronics
—Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Echo—and is the world's largest provider of
cloud infrastructure services. Amazon also sells certain low-end products under its in-house
brand AmazonBasics” (Amazon.com.au. 2018). The company is also one of the largest
recruiters of the world and as per a 2017 statistics the company has more than 566,000
employees (Amazon.com.au. 2018). The following figure provides some of the “financial
details of the company”-
Figure 1: “Financial details of the company Amazon”
Source: “Factset, Bloomberg, S&P Cap IQ; Forbes”

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Market Description
The nation of India is fairly technologically advanced one and the people of the
nation generally like to take the help of the “recent innovations as well as technological in
their day-to-day lives” (Cassen 2016). Therefore, the various companies operational in the
technological sector of the nation are have a fairly prospering business in the nation. The
major electronic companies or the companies providing the same kind of services which the
company Amazon provides are Flipkart.com, Snapdeal.com, myntra.com and others (Kew &
Stredwick 2017). It is true that the nation of India is a third world country however the major
portion of the population is fairly educated and likes to take the help of the “recent
technology as well as innovations” (Kew & Stredwick 2017). Therefore, it can be said that
the business market of these companies is basically centered on these people who are not
only educated but also likes to take the help of various forms of technology in their day-to-
day life (Hamilton & Webster 2015). It is significant to note that the company Flipkart.com
for the year 2017 registered an annual sales growth of 40% and a net revenue increase of
more than 19% for the same year in the nation of India and its predicted growth rate for the
year 2018 is around 60% (The Economic Times. 2018). The company Myntra.com, on the
other hand, has proposed an impressive growth rate of 45% for the year 2018 (The Economic
Times. 2018). Thus, it can be said that the nation of India is a very fertile one for the various
“e-commerce business organizations”.
SWOT Table
Strength 1. The company Amazon is a very reputed and has been in business for
the past two decades.
2. The brand value of the concerned company is very high and it is seen
that there are many people who like to buy products only from

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branded companies (Hamilton & Webster 2015).
3. The stable democratic environment of the nation of India is likely to
add to the strength of the company in a significant manner.
4. The effective promotional as well as marketing strategies used by the
company also acts as one of its strengths (Hamilton & Webster 2015).
5. The use of the “recent technology and innovations” for the operation
of business also acts as one of the strengths of the company (Craig &
Campbell 2012).
6. The delivery of the products at the door step of the customers is
another feature that will act as a strength of the company.
Weakness 1. The over-reliance of the concerned company on the technological
platform is generally seen as one of the major weaknesses of the
company. It is generally seen that many people do not like to use the
technological platform for the purposes of shopping and payment and
therefore they do not take the help of the services offered by this
particular company (Craig & Campbell 2012).
2. The company Amazon will be a foreign company in the nation of
India and therefore it is likely that it will not get the same leverage
which it used to get in the nation of the United States of America.
Opportunity 1. The success attained by the various native companies like Flipkart,
Snapdeal and others in the recent times clearly indicate that the
people of the concerned nation are willing to take the help of the
various forms of e-commerce and therefore the company Amazon can
utilize this particular factor as an opportunity for its growth (Cassen
2016).

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2. The company can take the help of regular sales as well as provide
discounts on the products.
3. The people of India like to celebrate various kinds of festivals and the
company can utilize this particular feature to promote the services
offered by them (Cassen 2016).
Threat 1. The major threat which the company faces in the nation of India is
from its various already established competitors like Flipkart,
Snalpdeal and others.
2. It is seen that many times when the product is being delivered to the
customers it gets damaged and therefore this is likely to affect the
prospects of the company in a negative manner.
“Analysis of the SWOT Table”
The above SWOT Table clearly indicates that in the nation of India the company is
likely to have a mixed business environment. On the one hand, there are people who like to
take the help of the various kinds of e-commerce services and on the other hand, there are
people who do not like to take the help of the services provided by the various kinds of e-
commerce websites (Craig & Campbell 2012). Furthermore, the market of India has already
been captured by the various other e-commerce companies of the nation like Flipkart,
Snapdeal and others. However, the concerned company can take the help of various effective
strategies like providing regular discounted offers, providing attractive offers to the
customers during the festive seasons, enhancing their home delivery system and others
(Tokuoka 2012). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the current market condition of the
nation of India will be an idea one for the American Company Amazon.

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Recommendations
Target Market
The target market for the company Amazon in the nation of India should be the
people who are educated and like to take the help of the various forms of e-commerce
(Cassen 2016). Furthermore, the company also can also concentrate on the people who are
more technologically savvy in comparison to the other people. Moreover, it is seen that the
majority of the online shoppers in the nation of India are in the age range of 18-45. Therefore,
the concerned company should focus on this particular age range.
New product description
It is generally seen that the people of India work for very long hours and do not get
adequate time to watch television or indulge in other kinds of leisure activities (Cassen 2016).
Therefore, the company has decided a launch a kind of service for them wherein they will get
watch their favorite television series, movies as well as all kinds of sports at any time they
want and from any where they want just taking the help of their internet. This particular
service is likely to find a very large customer base in the nation of India considering the kind
of lives they lead. The users will be required to subscribe to the company making a small
payment on an annual or quarterly basis.
Customer value proposition
As already mentioned the citizens of the nation of India lead a very hectic lifestyle
and do not get the requisite amount of time to watch the various television series or movies or
the sports matches while they are being telecasted (Cassen 2016). Therefore, this particular
service is likely to be of utmost value to the citizens of the nation. Moreover, the company
would charge a very nominal amount of payment from them and thus it would not affect their
overall monthly budget as well (Wetherly 2014).

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Justification of the choice
The primary strength of this particular service provided by the company Amazon in
the nation of India will be the fact that this particular service is designed to cater to the
entertainment needs of the customers. Furthermore, it is seen that India is a sports loving
nation and like to watch most of the matches of their favorite teams. Therefore, this particular
service by fulfilling this particular requirement of the customers will gain an extra bit of
leverage with the customers and this is likely to act as a key strength of the company
(Wetherly 2014). The weakness of this particular service offered by the company Amazon in
the nation of India will be the fact that many people in the nation of India are not very
technologically savvy and therefore they cannot take the help of the service offered by the
concerned company. Furthermore, although the nation of India is a fairly advanced nation yet
it is seen that many people do not have the required kind of technological means to take the
help of the service provided by the concerned company.
Conclusion
To conclude, the “external and the internal business environment” wields a
considerable amount of influence on the business process of the various companies.
Therefore, the various companies often analyze the business environment in which they
operate in a bid to not only find out the strength as well as the weaknesses of their business
process but also the opportunities and the threats which galore their business. The analysis of
the environment also helps the various companies to devise “effective strategies for the
mitigation of the competition faced by them and also to bring about the overall growth as
well as the development of their business organization”. Therefore, it becomes very important
for the various business organizations to analyze the business environment in which they
operate. Furthermore, the various companies also need to take into consideration the various

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factors like effective promotion, the condition of the market, the “needs as well as the
requirements of the customers” before the launch of a particular product. The same thing
applies the company Amazon as well for their new product in the country of India.

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References
Amazon.com.au. 2018. Amazon.com.au: Shop online for Electronics, Apparel, Toys, Books,
DVDs & more. [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.com.au/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018].
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education, Hertfordshire
Cassen, R., 2016. India: population, economy, society. Springer, India
Craig, T. & Campbell, D., 2012. Organisations and the business environment. Routledge,
Amsterdam
Forbes.com. 2018. Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/companies/amazon/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018].
Hamilton, L. & Webster, P., 2015. The international business environment. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Hilton, R.W. & Platt, D.E., 2013. Managerial accounting: creating value in a dynamic
business environment. McGraw-Hill Education, Australia
Kew, J. & Stredwick, J., 2017. Business environment: managing in a strategic context.
Kogan Page Publishers, London
Sørensen, H.E., 2012. Business Development: a market-oriented perspective. John Wiley &
Sons Ltd., ISBN: 9780470683668
The Economic Times. 2018. Snapdeal to push pedal on growth in 2017: Kunal Bahl. [online]
Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/snapdeal-to-push-
pedal-on-growth-in-2017-kunal-bahl/articleshow/56409592.cms [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018].