Amazon.com Inc. is an American-owned multi-national company that boomed from the dot com era to become one of the world’s largest and most influential economic and cultural forces. The company is a leader in e-commerce and cloud computing.
Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon quickly grew to be an e-commerce giant selling books, apparel, electronics, furniture, food, toys, and much more. As of July 2023, the company has a market capitalization of a staggering $1.5 trillion; for an in-depth guide on how much Amazon makes, check out this informative article.
Over time, Amazon has acquired many subsidiaries from multiple business sectors. So, let’s take a look at these Amazon Subsidiaries and find out why the company found them so attractive, starting with…
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Pill Pack
Pill pack is an online pharmacy founded in 2013. It was created to move standard over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceutical purchases online through a free delivery system.
In September 2018, Amazon purchased the company for $753 Million, with the idea of using its extensive delivery network to expand the company and improve the delivery system, which worked a treat. As of 2023, Pill Pack can deliver prescription medications overnight across the country.
Twitch Interactive
Twitch Interactive is a live-streaming platform created in 2011. The website is used by gamers to live to stream their video gameplay but has boomed into much more than that, with many artists, musicians, gamblers, cooks, craftsmen, and vloggers jumping on the platform.
Twitch was purchased by Amazon in September 2014 for $970 Million. When it was purchased, Twitch had 55 million users, whereas, by 2023, the company boasts 140 Million monthly users.
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is an organic grocery store with over 500 physical stores across the U.S, Canada, and the U.K. Founded in 1980 with the plan of being the only fully certified organic grocer in the country, Whole Foods Market quickly expanded, creating a market cap of nearly $10 Billion.
Amazon purchased the company in August 2017 for $14 Billion, making it the most expensive Amazon acquisition to date and also moving the online giant into a physical brick-and-mortar retailer. With the help of its advanced delivery system, the company has expanded into Amazon Fresh, a grocery delivery service offering organic products with reduced prices on key food items.
Zappos
Zappos is an online shoe and clothing retail merchant founded in 1999 under the name shoesite.com. It quickly grew in popularity, becoming one of the biggest independent retailers in the country.
In November 2009, Amazon agreed to purchase the company, which it saw as a competitor, for 10 Million shares of Amazon stocks, $40 million in cash, and restricted stocks for its Zappos employees. Since the acquisition of the company, it has continued to grow to generate more than $2 billion in revenue annually. For more info, check out our in-depth look at Does Amazon Own Zappos?
Audible
Audible is an online platform for Audiobooks and podcasts which allows users to purchase and stream Audiobooks and other spoken word content. Founded in 1995, it took the company a while to get off the ground. However, since Amazon purchased the company in February 2008 for $300 million, it has become the fastest-growing audiobook-related company in the world.
Goodreads
Goodreads is an online social cataloging website where users can share and search a database of books, quotes, and reviews while also forming discussion groups with other users.
The company was launched in 2007 and grew quickly to 650,000 members and 10 million books within the first year. In March 2013, Amazon announced its acquisition of Goodreads for $150 Million. Within the next six years, the company grew to over 90 Million users. This worked perfectly for Amazon as you can buy any book from Goodreads on Amazons kindle or through Audible.
Kiva Systems
Next on my list of Amazon Subsidiaries is Kiva Systems, now renamed Amazon Robotics. They are a robotics company founded in 2003 that manufactures and distributes a variety of robotics systems, such as automated storage and retrieval systems.
Purchased in March 2012 for $775 million, the company was quickly rebranded to Amazon Robotics. Its robotic systems were made exclusive to Amazon warehouses, increasing the productivity of the logistics operations. These warehouses are now calculated to have more than 200,000 robots operating throughout them, greatly speeding up product delivery to customers.
MGM Holdings INC
MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) is an entertainment company that distributes and produces film and tv content. They were formed in 1924 from the merger of three production companies, Metro Pictures Corp., Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions. They own the rights to many productions, such as the Rocky and James Bond franchises.
Upon purchasing the company in March 2023 for $8.5 billion, Amazon’s media content inventory was greatly expanded, allowing its video streaming service Amazon Prime to revile companies such as Netflix, Disney, and Apple TV.
Souq
Souq is an eCommerce company founded in 2005. It offers online shopping with a range of products, including electronics, baby care items, clothes, health and beauty products, and household goods.
Amazon purchased Souq in 2017 for $580 Million in cash. At the time of the purchase, Souq was the biggest online retailer of these types of products in the Middle East. After the deal was settled, Souq was rebranded as Amazon.ae. At its launch, it offered up to 30 million products, many of which were taken from Souq’s pre-existing catalog.
Want to learn more about Amazon?
Well, let’s start by finding out How Many Countries Does Amazon Operate In, Can You Hide Orders On Amazon, or How to Buy Amazon Returns. Or you may want to know Does Amazon do Price Adjustments, Does Amazon Refund Cancelled Orders, and Can You Split Payments On Amazon.
Or, if you are interested in working for Amazon, then find out about the Amazon Mandatory Overtime Policy, the Amazon Vacation Policy, the Amazon Background Check Policy, the Amazon Transfer Policy, the Amazon Rehire Policy, as well as everything you need to know about the Amazon Bereavement Policy in 2023.
Amazon Subsidiaries – Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt that the eCommerce giant has made some extremely wise decisions when purchasing its subsidiaries. Not only do some of them turn over a massive income per year, but many of the decisions were made to tie in with and boost subsidiaries that Amazon already owned.
Examples include Goodreads perking up Audible and Amazon’s kindle, and Whole Foods providing a range of organic products for Amazon Fresh. While Kiva systems greatly improved the distribution of Amazon products with its robotics knowledge, and Souq added millions of products to the already huge catalog that Amazon distributes while also getting a foothold in the Middle East and making them shop online.
We can all agree that these have all been very wise business decisions, and it’s not going to be long before more subsidiaries are acquired by the giant that is Amazon INC.
Happy shopping at Amazon and its subsidiaries.