Zappos.com is an American online shoe and clothing retailer based in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States. The company was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and launched under the domain name Shoesite.com. In July 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos in an all-stock deal worth around $1.2 billion at the time.Jacobs, Alexandra
Happy Feet: Inside the online shoe utopia
''The New Yorker''. September 14, 2009. Amazon purchased all of the outstanding shares and warrants from Zappos for 10 million shares of Amazon's common stock and provided $40 million in cash and restricted stock for Zappos employees.

Company history

Inception

Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn. Swinmurn launched the company with Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin,I Am CNBC Tony Hsieh Transcript
CNBC. August 15, 2007. who invested $2 million through their investment firm Venture Frogs.Hsieh, Tony

''Inc. Magazine''. September 1, 2006. The company was officially launched online in 1999 as ShoeSite.com. In July 1999, the company's name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos after "zapatos", the Spanish word meaning "shoes". In 2000, Venture Frogs invested in the business and Zappos moved into their office space.Zappos Milestone: Q&A with Nick Swinmurn
''Footwear News''. May 4, 2009. In 2001, Hsieh came on board as co-CEO with Nick Swinmurn.

Growth

From 1999 to 2000, Zappos earned $1.6 million in gross sales. In 2001, Zappos brought in $8.6 million, a significant increase from the previous year. In 2004, Zappos reached $184 million in gross sales and received a $35 million investment from Sequoia Capital.Marshall, Matt

. ''Silicon Beat''. October 29, 2004. That same year, they moved their headquarters from San Francisco to

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

. Over the next three years, Zappos doubled their annual revenues, hitting $840 million in gross sales. By 2007, the company expanded to include handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches, and kids’ merchandise.Chessman, Kristin
Young Millionaires Who Made It Bigger
''Entrepreneur''. October 5, 2007.McDonald, Duff
Case Study: Open Source at Zappos
''Baseline Magazine''. November 10, 2006. In 2008, Zappos hit $1 billion in annual sales. One year later, they debuted at No. 23 on Fortune's Top 100 Companies to Work For.Mitchell, Dan

The New York Times. May 24, 2008.
''Fortune''. 2009. In the early 2000s, Zappos made the decision to move away from its original business model wherein the company does not manage any inventory. Hsieh noted, "Even though it was hard to walk away from sales at a time when nobody is offering you money, we couldn't distinguish ourselves in the eyes of our customers if we weren't going to control the entire experience. We had to give up the easy money, manage the inventory, and take the risk." In 2015 Forbes reported Zappos produces "in excess of $2 billion in revenues annually".

Amazon subsidiary

In 2009, Zappos announced an acquisition by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

. Within Zappos’ board of directors, two of the five—Hsieh and Alfred Lin—were primarily concerned with maintaining Zappos company culture, whereas the other three wanted to maximize profits in the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. Initially, Hsieh and Lin planned to buy out their board of directors, which they estimated would cost $200 million. In the midst of this, Amazon executives approached Zappos with the proposition of buying the company outright. After an hour-long meeting with Amazon CEO

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

, Hsieh sensed that Amazon would be open to letting Zappos continue to operate as an independent entity, and started negotiations. On July 22, 2009, Amazon announced that it would buy Zappos for $940 million in a stock and cash deal.Lacy, Sarah
Amazon Buys Zappos; The Price is $928m., not $847m
''TechCrunch''. July 22, 2009.McCarthy, Carolone

CNet News. July 22, 2009. Owners of shares of Zappos were set to receive approximately 10 million Amazon.com shares, and employees would receive a separate $40 million in cash and restricted stock units. The deal was eventually closed in November 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion. On June 22, 2012, Zappos announced it would be handing operations of its Kentucky warehouse to Amazon on September 1, 2012. The outlet housed in the Kentucky warehouse remains open, but the name was changed to 6pm Outlet.

2012 hacking incident

On January 16, 2012, Zappos announced that its computer systems were hacked, compromising the personal information of 24 million customers. In response, the company required all of its customers to change their passwords on the site, though it noted that it was highly unlikely that password information was obtained due to encryption. This incident led to a class action suit '' In re Zappos.com, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation'', with plaintiffs claiming that Zappos did not adequately protect their personal information. After the case was initially dismissed, plaintiffs appeal was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Zappos appealed the decision to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, but this was ultimately rejected. A settlement was reached in October 2019. Customers received a 10% discount on one order. Zappos denied wrongdoing, but is expected to pay $1.6 million in court costs.

New headquarters

On September 9, 2013, Zappos moved their headquarters from

, to the former Las Vegas City Hall building in

downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming Las Vegas, Downtown Gaming Area was the primary gambl ...

. CEO Tony Hsieh, at the time stated that he wanted "to be in an area where everyone feels like they can hang out all the time and where there's not a huge distinction between working and playing."Medina, Jennifer
Las Vegas Gets New City Hall, and a Mullet
''The New York Times''. December 26, 2010. The move was lauded by Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman who said "This move will bring about a critical mass of creative persons to the inner core of Las Vegas in addition to causing a significant shot in the arm for the economy and for new jobs."Schoenmann, Joe
Zappos views Las Vegas City Hall as perfect fit for new headquarters
''Las Vegas Sun''. Nov. 29, 2010.

Tony Hsieh steps down as CEO

On August 24, 2020, Tony Hsieh retired as CEO after 21 years at the helm. COO Kedar Deshpande took over as the new CEO. On November 27, 2020, Tony Hsieh died from smoke inhalation suffered in a house fire. After Deshpande left Zappos, Scott Schaefer, the company's VP of finance, was named Zappos CEO on April 6, 2022.

Products

As of 2010, shoes accounted for about 80% of Zappos' business.Cheng, Andri
Zappos, under Amazon, keeps its independent streak
''Market Watch''. June 11, 2010. As of 2007, Zappos had expanded their inventory to include clothing, handbags and other accessories, which accounted for 20% of annual revenues. Zappos executives stated that they expected that clothing and accessories would bring in an additional $1 billion worth of revenue, as the clothing market is four times the size of the footwear market.Evans, Kate
Zappos posted strong profits in 2008
''Digital Commerce 360'', July 28, 2009Mui, Ylan

''Washington Post''. May 14, 2006. The company sells many different types of footwear, including vegan shoes. In 2004, they launched a second line of shoes called Zappos Couture.Slatalla, Michelle
Style by Way of Grandmother’s Closet
''The New York Times''. October 7, 2004.

Social media

CEO Tony Hsieh encouraged his employees to use social media networks to put a human face on the company and engage with customers, following their core value #6: "Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication". Zappos employees maintain an active presence on: * Twitter: Zappos runs its own Twitter microsite for its 500 employees registered on Twitter. Among them, Tony Hsieh was one of the most followed persons on Twitter with 2.75 million followers. Employees are encouraged to use their Twitter accounts for casual communication rather than promotions or marketing pitches, in an effort to humanize the company, like when Hsieh tweeted before going onstage at a tech conference: "Spilled Coke on left leg of jeans, so poured some water on right leg so looks like the denim fade."Chafkin, Max

''Inc. Magazine''. May 1, 2009. * YouTube * Facebook *Instagram: Zappos has six verified Instagram accounts: one main account, one for kids, one charity account ("For Good"), one account for running, one about the company culture and one that is "Adaptive", about disability rights. In 2020, they announced on the Adaptive account that they would be selling single shoes after public pressure from disability activist groups. * Corporate blogs: Zappos runs several blogs covering topics related to its business.

Corporate programs and sponsorships

In 2008, Zappos launched Zappos Insights, a video subscription service aimed at Fortune 1 million companies that are looking to improve their company operations and customer service. The service allows participants to ask questions to and receive answers from Zappos employees. Zappos Insights also offers a three-day bootcamp where participants visit the headquarters and have meetings with Zappos executives. In 2007, Zappos acquired 6pm.com from eBags. The site sells shoes and accessories.Dilworth, Dianna
Zappos.com acquires 6pm.com for increased shoe retailing presence
''Direct Marketing News''. July 10, 2007. Zappos sponsors the "Zappos Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon and ½ Marathon", which draw 28,000 runners each year. They also sponsor the Zappos WCC basketball championships. During the tournament, Zappos hosts "Kidz Day", which outfits local Las Vegas kids with a new pair of shoes and an event T-shirt.

Recognition

Zappos was ranked 23rd on the '' Fortune'' magazine's list of " 100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2009, 15th in 2010, sixth in 2011, dropping slightly to 11th in 2012.100 Best Companies to Work For
''Fortune''. 2011.
''Fortune''. 2011.
''Fortune''. 2012.

References

External links

* – official site {{Authority control Online clothing retailers of the United States Shoe companies of the United States Companies based in Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas Amazon (company) acquisitions American companies established in 1999 Retail companies established in 1999 Internet properties established in 1999 1999 establishments in Nevada 2009 mergers and acquisitions