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典重讀 | 亞馬遜股東信(1997)
焦俊
此文是貝索斯在亞馬遜上市首年寫給投資者的信,。貝索斯出身投行，深知價值觀對于一個企業(yè)的重要性,。文中著重強調(diào)了亞馬遜的價值觀：我們的成功標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是能夠為股東創(chuàng)造長期價值,；而實現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)必須以客戶為中心,。亞馬遜1997年上市時正處在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)大潮方興未艾之際，市場上對于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)概念趨之若鶩,。在此背景下,，貝索斯對長期價值與短期盈利的取舍更顯得彌足珍貴。貝索斯每年都會將此文附在給股東信之后,，以重申亞馬遜對價值觀的一以貫之,，足見此文的重要性。我們謹(jǐn)以此文作為經(jīng)典重讀的開篇,，以餮讀者,。
——國盛社服
致我們的股東：
亞馬遜在1997年跨過了許多里程碑：截至年底，我們服務(wù)的用戶超過了150萬,，營收增長了838%,，達到了1.478億美元，并在當(dāng)前非常激烈的市場競爭中強化了我們的市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位,。
但是這只是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展的“第一天”[1],，也只是亞馬遜發(fā)展道路的“第一天”（如果我們在未來能夠做得更好的話）。如今,，電子商務(wù)為用戶節(jié)省了開支和寶貴的時間,。在未來，通過“個性化”服務(wù),，我們將會加速在電子商務(wù)這個領(lǐng)域的探索之旅,。
一直以來，亞馬遜都在用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)為用戶創(chuàng)造真正的價值,，與此同時,，我們希望通過這樣能建立起經(jīng)久不衰的專營權(quán)，不管是對于既有的市場抑或是更大的市場,。
我們?yōu)橘u家提供了一個投入資源,、尋求網(wǎng)絡(luò)商機的平臺，也為愿意建立嶄新關(guān)系的買家提供了一個全新的網(wǎng)購平臺,。這種極富競爭性的視野正在迅猛地進化,。很多賣家已經(jīng)通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)信用支付將其業(yè)務(wù)搬到網(wǎng)絡(luò)上，并且致力于持續(xù)的能量和資源投入,，以獲得關(guān)注,、流量以及銷售業(yè)績。我們的目標(biāo)就是在其它新的電子商務(wù)領(lǐng)域追求網(wǎng)絡(luò)商機的同時,，盡快強化并拓寬自身目前的市場地位,。我們在目標(biāo)市場中看到了長期可持續(xù)的發(fā)展機會。這種發(fā)展戰(zhàn)略并非完全沒有風(fēng)險：它需要審慎的投資和果敢的執(zhí)行力，以對抗那些已經(jīng)建立起根深蒂固的專營權(quán)的所謂行業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,。
一切以長期價值為中心
我們相信,，衡量我們是否成功的一個最基本的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，就在于我們是否為股東創(chuàng)造了長期價值,。這種價值直接來自于我們鞏固并拓展市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位的能力,。我們的市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位越強大，我們的商業(yè)模式越具有競爭力,。強大的市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位能帶來更高的收入,，更多的利潤，更快的資金周轉(zhuǎn)速度,，以及更強大的資本回報率,。
一直以來，我們所做的每個決策都反映了這一點,。從一開始,，我們就將我們的市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位指標(biāo)化：用戶增長率,、收入增長率,、用戶回頭率、品牌力量,。為了建立一個持續(xù)的專營權(quán),，我們已經(jīng)并會繼續(xù)發(fā)起投資攻勢，借助杠桿的力量擴大用戶基數(shù),，強化我們的品牌,，加強基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)。
由于我們專注于長期發(fā)展,，我們所做的很多決策以及衡量得失的方法都有別于其它一些企業(yè),。因此，我們希望與您們分享我們的基本管理和決策方法,，以向我們的股東證實這完全符合您們的投資哲學(xué)：
我們將繼續(xù)毫無保留地專注于用戶至上的理念,。
我們的投資決策將繼續(xù)基于“長期市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位”這一目標(biāo)，而非關(guān)注短期的盈利以及華爾街的短期反應(yīng),。
我們將繼續(xù)批判地評估我們的項目以及投資決策的有效性,，以果斷拋棄那些不能提供相應(yīng)回報的項目，而追加投資那些運作良好的項目,。同時,，我們將繼續(xù)從我們的成功及失敗中汲取經(jīng)驗教訓(xùn)。
我們將毫不猶豫地投資那些有助于提升我們市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的機會,。這些投資有的可能會得益,，有的或許不會，但我們至少能從每一個案例中汲取有價值的經(jīng)驗教訓(xùn)。
如果一定要在最優(yōu)化GAAP報表[2]和最大化未來現(xiàn)金流二者之間做出選擇,，我們會選擇后者,。
我們在做大膽的投資決策（競爭壓力可行性范圍內(nèi)）時，會與您們分享我們的戰(zhàn)略決策流程,，以讓您們評估這樣的長遠投資決策是否理性,。
我們會努力優(yōu)化精簡開支，保持我們精益生產(chǎn)的企業(yè)文化,。我們明白持續(xù)建立合理管控成本這種企業(yè)文化的重要性,，特別是對于那些正在虧損的項目。
我們會平衡長期盈利與資本管理二者之間的關(guān)系,。在這個階段,，我們會把市場增長放在第一位，因為我們相信,，一定的企業(yè)規(guī)模是實現(xiàn)我們這種商業(yè)模式的潛能最為核心的基礎(chǔ),。
我們會繼續(xù)專注于雇用并留住那些全方位發(fā)展、極具天賦的人才,，繼續(xù)向他們提供更多的股權(quán)激勵,，而非現(xiàn)金。我們深知,，我們能否取得成功就在于我們能否吸引并留住那些積極進取的員工,，這樣的員工一定是能從公司的主人翁地位出發(fā)進行思考的人。
我們不敢貿(mào)然宣稱我們的上述戰(zhàn)略就是“正確”的投資哲學(xué),，但這至少就是屬于我們的投資哲學(xué),。而我們?nèi)绻B自己已經(jīng)采取并會繼續(xù)使用的發(fā)展方法都不清楚，那只能被解釋為玩忽職守,。
在此基礎(chǔ)上,，我們準(zhǔn)備回顧一下我們的業(yè)務(wù)重點、我們在1997年取得的進步以及我們對未來的展望,。
關(guān)注用戶需求
一開始,，我們就專注于為用戶帶來價值。我們意識到,，網(wǎng)絡(luò)曾經(jīng)是,、并且仍然是舉世矚目的焦點。因此,，我們開始為用戶提供一些他們無法從其他途徑獲取的東西,，并開始向他們提供圖書銷售服務(wù)。我們向用戶提供比實體書店更豐富的選擇（我們現(xiàn)在的倉庫面積相當(dāng)于六個足球場大?。?，我們所有的書籍商品都能隨時隨地方便地搜索和瀏覽。我們堅持提升購物體驗，并于1997年大規(guī)模地對我們的線上書店進行優(yōu)化改進,。亞馬遜目前能夠提供優(yōu)惠券,、一鍵購物[3]更多評論、內(nèi)容,、瀏覽選擇,、以及產(chǎn)品推薦等多種功能。同時,，我們大幅度地降低了商品的售價,，更大程度上提升用戶價值?？诒琅f是我們吸引用戶最有力的武器,，我們也十分感激用戶給予我們的信任。高回頭率和良好的口碑共同鑄就了亞馬遜在線上圖書銷售市場的領(lǐng)先地位,。
1997年,，亞馬遜在各種指標(biāo)上都取得了突出的成績
銷售額從1996年的1570萬美元，增至1.478億美元,，同比增速高達838%,。
累計用戶賬戶由18萬增至151萬，同比增速為738%,。
用戶回頭率由1996年Q4時的46%,，增至1997年Q4時的58%,。
據(jù)MediaMetrix統(tǒng)計,，亞馬遜網(wǎng)站的用戶使用率[4]排名由90名，升至20名,。
我們和AmericaOnline,、Yahoo、Excite,、Netscape,、GeoCities、AltaVista,、@Home,、Prodigy等公司建立了長期戰(zhàn)略合作關(guān)系。
基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)
1997年,，為了支撐我們快速增長的流量,、銷售、以及服務(wù)水平,，我們努力擴大了公司基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施：
亞馬遜的員工從158人大幅增至614人,，管理團隊也進行了重要的擴充。
倉儲物流中心從之前的5萬平方英尺擴充到了28.5萬平方英尺，其中包括我們擴充了近70%的西雅圖設(shè)施,，以及11月份在特拉華州建立的第二個倉儲中心,。
截至年底，我們的庫存增加到了20萬種,，這使得我們能為消費者提供更多的選擇,。
我們的現(xiàn)金及投資余額在年底達到了1.25億美元，這得益于亞馬遜在1997年5月份的IPO以及7500萬美元的貸款,。充裕的資金保證了我們戰(zhàn)略執(zhí)行過程中更具靈活性,。
我們的員工
過去一年的成功是我們這群極具天賦、聰明能干的員工團隊共同努力的結(jié)果,，我為自己是其中一員感到非常的自豪,。打造一個高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、高質(zhì)量的招聘流程體系,，是我們一直以來并將長期堅持的一項工作,，因為這是亞馬遜未來成功道路上最為重要的因素。
在這里工作并不那么容易（當(dāng)我面試求職者時,，我對他們說,，“完成一項任務(wù)，你有三種方法：長時間工作,、非常努力地工作,、或者非常高效率地工作；但是在亞馬遜,，這三種方法必須同時使用,，缺一不可”），但是我們會努力建立一些非常重要的工作方法,，特別是關(guān)系到我們用戶的內(nèi)容,，這甚至是我們可以給我們的子孫們講的一些東西，這一切并不容易,。但是幸運的是,，我們擁有這樣一群樂于付出、擁有犧牲精神并極富激情的團隊,，是他們打造出了今天的亞馬遜,。
1998年的目標(biāo)
對于怎樣通過電子商務(wù)和網(wǎng)絡(luò)交易為我們的用戶創(chuàng)造新的價值，我們目前仍處于早期的學(xué)習(xí)階段,。我們的目標(biāo)仍然是鞏固并努力拓展我們的用戶群體,，以及提升我們的品牌知名度。這需要我們加大對系統(tǒng)及其它基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的持續(xù)投入,，以便為我們的用戶提供更便捷,、更多選擇的服務(wù),。我們計劃將音樂納入我們的產(chǎn)品范圍，并且隨著時間的推移,，我們相信其它一些產(chǎn)品也將會是我們謹(jǐn)慎的投資對象,。我們也相信，提升服務(wù)海外用戶的能力,，包括縮短配送時間以及增強更好的用戶體驗等,，將給我們帶來巨大的機遇。確切地說,，一個對我們目前最具挑戰(zhàn)性的難題,，不是尋找新的商業(yè)擴展途徑，而在于如何劃分我們投資的優(yōu)先級順序,。
相較于亞馬遜剛剛建立之日,，我們現(xiàn)在對電子商務(wù)了解的更加透徹，但是我們?nèi)匀挥泻芏鄸|西需要學(xué)習(xí),。盡管我們對未來充滿了信心,，我們必須時刻保持警惕和緊迫感。在實現(xiàn)我們長期愿景的路途中,，我們將面對如下一些困難及挑戰(zhàn)：那些激進的,、有能力的、資金豐富的競爭對手,；持續(xù)增加的挑戰(zhàn)與運作風(fēng)險,；產(chǎn)品與市場擴充所帶來的風(fēng)險；市場擴張中不可避免的持續(xù)投入資金,。然而,，正如我們一直所強調(diào)的，總體來看,，網(wǎng)絡(luò)書店,，以及電子商務(wù)將會被證明是一個具有巨大機會的龐大市場,，極有可能有很多企業(yè)會從中獲取巨大收益,。我們對目前所做的一切感到非常滿意，也對我們將來要做的事情感到興奮,。
1997年是非凡的一年,。亞馬遜向我們所有的用戶表示感謝，感謝他們的業(yè)務(wù)支持與信任,，感謝所有辛勤工作的每一位員工,，同時要感謝我們的股東，今天的成功離不開您們的支持與鼓勵,。
杰弗里·貝索斯
亞馬遜公司創(chuàng)始人,、首席執(zhí)行官
[1]譯者注：“第一天”原文為Day1,，這個詞會在今后每年的致股東信中反復(fù)出現(xiàn)，與2016年致股東信中的“第二天”（Day2）相對應(yīng),。前者意為企業(yè)發(fā)展之初充滿活力的階段,，后者意為企業(yè)業(yè)績放緩、逐漸喪失活力的停滯期,。
[2]譯者注：GAAP全稱為GenerallyAccepted
Accounting
Principles,，即一般公認會計準(zhǔn)則。GAAP報表即為在一般公認會計準(zhǔn)則下披露的財務(wù)報表,。
[3]譯者注：“一鍵購物”,，原文為“1-Click”Shopping，可使某一網(wǎng)店的回頭客只需用點擊一下鼠標(biāo)便完成商品的購買,，這樣用戶就不用再次輸入信用卡卡號以及個人信息,。
[4]譯者注：用戶使用率原文為audience
reach，指在某個月使用某一特定搜索引擎的用戶在所有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)用戶中所占比例,。
To our
shareholders:
Amazon.com passed many
milestones in 1997: by year-end, we had served more than 1.5
million customers, yielding 838% revenue growth to $147.8 million,
and extended our market leadership despite aggressive competitive
entry.
But this is Day 1 for the
Internet and, if we execute well, for Amazon.com. Today, online
commerce saves customers money and precious time. Tomorrow, through
personalization, online commerce will accelerate the very process
of discovery.
Amazon.com uses the Internet to
create real value for its customers and, by doing so, hopes to
create an enduring franchise, even in established and large
markets.
We have a window of opportunity
as larger players marshal the resources to pursue the online
opportunity and as customers, new to purchasing online, are
receptive to forming new relationships. The competitive landscape
has continued to evolve at a fast pace. Many large players have
moved online with credible offerings and have devoted substantial
energy and resources to building awareness, traffic, and sales. Our
goal is to move quickly to solidify and extend our current position
while we begin to pursue the online commerce opportunities in other
areas. We see substantial opportunity in the large markets we are
targeting. This strategy is not without risk: it requires serious
investment and crisp execution against established franchise
leaders.
It's All About the Long
Term
We believe that a fundamental
measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over
the long term.
Our decisions have consistently
reflected this focus. We first measure ourselves in terms of the
metrics most indicative of our market leadership: customer and
revenue growth, the degree to which our customers continue to
purchase from us on a repeat basis, and the strength of our brand.
We have invested and will continue to invest aggressively to expand
and leverage our customer base, brand, and infrastructure as we
move to establish an enduring franchise.
Because of our emphasis on the
long term, we may make decisions and weigh tradeoffs differently
than some companies. Accordingly, we want to share with you our
fundamental management and decision-making approach so that you,
our shareholders, may confirm that it is consistent with your
investment philosophy:
· We will continue to focus
relentlessly on our customers.
· We will continue to make
investment decisions in light of long-term market leadership
considerations rather than short-term profitability considerations
or short-term Wall Street reactions.
· We will continue to measure
our programs and the effectiveness of our investments analytically,
to jettison those that do not provide acceptable returns, and to
step up our investment in those that work best. We will continue to
learn from both our successes and our failures.
· We will make bold rather than
timid investment decisions where we see a sufficient probability of
gaining market leadership advantages. Some of these investments
will pay off, others will not, and we will have learned another
valuable lesson in either case.
· When forced to choose between
optimizing the appearance of our GAAP accounting and maximizing the
present value of future cash flows, we'll take the cash
flows.
· We will share our strategic
thought processes with you when we make bold choices (to the extent
competitive pressures allow), so that you may evaluate for
yourselves whether we are making rational long-term leadership
investments.
· We will work hard to spend
wisely and maintain our lean culture. We understand the importance
of continually reinforcing a cost-conscious culture, particularly
in a business incurring net losses.
· We will balance our focus on
growth with emphasis on long-term profitability and capital
management. At this stage, we choose to prioritize growth because
we believe that scale is central to achieving the potential of our
business model.
· We will continue to focus on
hiring and retaining versatile and talented employees, and continue
to weight their compensation to stock options rather than cash. We
know our success will be largely affected by our ability to attract
and retain a motivated employee base, each of whom must think like,
and therefore must actually be, an owner.
We aren't so bold as to claim
that the above is the "right" investment philosophy, but it's ours,
and we would be remiss if we weren't clear in the approach we have
taken and will continue to take.
With this foundation, we would
like to turn to a review of our business focus, our progress in
1997, and our outlook for the future.
Obsess Over
Customers
From the beginning, our focus
has been on offering our customers compelling value. We realized
that the Web was, and still is, the World Wide Wait. Therefore, we
set out to offer customers something they simply could not get any
other way, and began serving them with books. We brought them much
more selection than was possible in a physical store (our store
would now occupy 6 football fields), and presented it in a useful,
easy-to- search, and easy-to-browse format in a store open 365 days
a year, 24 hours a day. We maintained a dogged focus on improving
the shopping experience, and in 1997 substantially enhanced our
store. We now offer customers gift certificates, 1-Click(SM)
shopping, and vastly more reviews, content, browsing options, and
recommendation features. We dramatically lowered prices, further
increasing customer value. Word of mouth remains the most powerful
customer acquisition tool we have, and we are grateful for the
trust our customers have placed in us. Repeat purchases and word of
mouth have combined to make Amazon.com the market leader in online
bookselling.
By many measures, Amazon.com
came a long way in 1997:
· Sales grew from $15.7 million
in 1996 to $147.8 million – an 838% increase.
· Cumulative customer accounts
grew from 180,000 to 1,510,000 – a 738% increase.
· The percentage of orders from
repeat customers grew from over 46% in the fourth quarter of 1996
to over 58% in the same period in 1997.
· In terms of audience reach,
per Media Metrix, our Web site went from a rank of 90th to within
the top 20.
· We established long-term
relationships with many important strategic partners, including
America Online,Yahoo!, Excite, Netscape, GeoCities,
AltaVista,@Home, and Prodigy.
Infrastructure
During 1997, we worked hard to
expand our business infrastructure to support these greatly
increased traffic, sales, and service levels:
· Amazon.com's employee base
grew from 158 to 614, and we significantly strengthened our
management team.
· Distribution center capacity
grew from 50,000 to 285,000 square feet, including a 70% expansion
of our Seattle facilities and the launch of our second distribution
center in Delaware in November.
· Inventories rose to over
200,000 titles at year-end, enabling us to improve availability for
our customers.
· Our cash and investment
balances at year-end were $125 million, thanks to our initial
public offering in May 1997 and our $75 million loan, affording us
substantial strategic flexibility.
Our Employees
The past year's success is the
product of a talented, smart, hard-working group, and I take great
pride in being a part of this team. Setting the bar high in our
approach to hiring has been, and will continue to be, the single
most important element of Amazon.com's success.
It's not easy to work here
(when I interview people I tell them, “You can work long, hard, or
smart, but at Amazon.com you can't choose two out of three"), but
we are working to build something important, something that matters
to our customers, something that we can all tell our grandchildren
about. Such things aren't meant to be easy. We are incredibly
fortunate to have this group of dedicated employees whose
sacrifices and passion build Amazon.com.
Goals for 1998
We are still in the early
stages of learning how to bring new value to our customers through
Internet commerce and merchandising. Our goal remains to continue
to solidify and extend our brand and customer base. This requires
sustained investment in systems and infrastructure to support
outstanding customer convenience, selection, and service while we
grow. We are planning to add music to our product offering, and
over time we believe that other products may be prudent
investments. We also believe there are significant opportunities to
better serve our customers overseas, such as reducing delivery
times and better tailoring the customer experience. To be certain,
a big part of the challenge for us will lie not in finding new ways
to expand our business, but in prioritizing our
investments.
We now know vastly more about
online commerce than when Amazon.com was founded, but we still have
so much to learn. Though we are optimistic, we must remain vigilant
and maintain a sense of urgency. The challenges and hurdles we will
face to make our long-term vision for Amazon.com a reality are
several: aggressive, capable, well-funded competition; considerable
growth challenges and execution risk; the risks of product and
geographic expansion; and the need for large continuing investments
to meet an expanding market opportunity. However, as we've long
said, online bookselling, and online commerce in general, should
prove to be a very large market, and it's likely that a number of
companies will see significant benefit. We feel good about what
we've done, and even more excited about what we want to
do.
1997 was indeed an incredible
year. We at Amazon.com are grateful to our customers for their
business and trust, to each other for our hard work, and to our
shareholders for their support and encouragement.
Jeffrey P. Bezos
Founder and Chief Executive
Officer
Amazon.com, Inc.
（特別鳴謝本文編輯：陳俊彥）
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來自： xindiandengshw > 《但斌》
