Amazon expanding services to include menus, catalogs

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Amazon.com is well-known as a place to find books and compact discs. But how about dinner?

The Seattle-based Internet retailer is now posting — for free — restaurant menus and catalogs from medical suppliers, auto parts dealers and other merchants on its Web site. The pilot program, launched on May 22, is to test customer interest in such services, said Carrie Peters, an Amazon spokeswoman. She said she did not want to speculate on whether Amazon might offer to host transactions for such merchants or provide other services.

The program includes menus from more than 1,000 restaurants in six cities, although the company hopes restaurateurs in other cities will also send in their menus, Peters said. The test also includes thousands of catalogs from merchants offering products in eight categories: arts and hobbies, toys and accessories, industrial supplies, medical supplies, science supplies, home furnishings, lifestyle and gifts and car parts and accessories.

Some said the effort is a toe in the water to see how Amazon can best leverage its massive audience of 35 million customers into moneymaking ventures that require little investment.

"They’re trying to show these catalog companies that their platform of users can drive sales and in the process prove to them that they should pay Amazon for the distribution and sales that that site can generate," said Jeff Fieler, an analyst with Bear Stearns. "They’re trying to expand the platform without tying up a lot of capital."

At the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos noted that while the seven-year-old company has evolved from a fledgling book seller in 1995 to a company with more than $3 billion in annual sales, its vision of help customers "find and discover anything" on the Internet hasn’t changed.

He highlighted changes over the past year that have helped the company post a quarterly profit — its first — in the fourth quarter of 2001, as well as put the company on track to post a pro forma operating income of more than $5 million for the second quarter of 2002 and more than $100 million for all of 2002.

Amazon’s pro forma income figures exclude stock-based compensation, non-cash charges as well as one-time cash charges and are higher than the income figures reported under generally accepted accounting principles. Bezos defended the use of pro forma numbers as helping give a clearer picture to investors about the company’s business performance and growth.

The company has also added pricing promotions — 30 percent discounts on books costing more than $15 and free shipping for orders over $99, Bezos said.

Later this year, customers will be able to order books, CDs and DVDs off the Amazon.com or Borders.com Web sites and pick them up from a local Borders bookstore if they’re in stock.

And the company is testing TV commercials in Portland, Ore. and Minneapolis for several months. The humorous commercials play off the inconveniences of parking, waiting in lines and finding your way around shopping centers. The company wants to see how effective the commercials are before deciding whether to expand them to other markets, Bezos said.

The crowd of more than 80 shareholders was generally approving of Bezos, interrupting his presentation with applause. One shareholder, Carol MacKinnon of Tacoma, noted that the crowd seemed kinder than the previous year’s meeting. "The shareholders are happier this year," she said. Bezos too, seemed more sophisticated than the CEO of five years ago, she said, mirroring a change in investors as well.

"I think anyone who was an investor prior to the huge run-up of the stock market and lived through the bursting of the bubble is certainly more mature," she said.

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.