Amazon buying hot online shoe shop

Amazon said it expects the transaction to be complete by the end of this year.

"Zappos is a customer-focused company," said Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos.

"We see great opportunities for both companies to learn from each other and create even better experiences for our customers."

Amazon described Zappos as a "leader in online apparel and footwear sales".

Under the terms of the deal, Amazon will get all shares of Zappos stock in exchange for 10 million shares of Amazon stock valued at $807 million based on an average of share prices in the 45 days ending 17 July.

The online retailer will also give Zappos employees $40 million in cash and stock, according to the agreement.

Amazon said it would keep the management team at Zappos, which would remain based in Las Vegas and operate as an independent firm.

"We will continue to build the Zappos brand and culture in our own unique way, and we believe Amazon is the best partner to help us do this over the long term," said Zappos chief executive Tony Hsieh.

"We are joining forces with Amazon because there is a huge opportunity to utilise each other's strengths and move even faster towards our vision of delivering happiness to customers, employees and vendors."

Zappos was founded in 1999 and gained fans with free shipping of shoe buys and a liberal return policy. Zappos, its name derived from a Spanish word for "shoes," expanded to offer handbags and other accessories.

Amazon launched a competing shoe and accessory shop online at Endless.com in 2007.

Source: AFP

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