Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future · chapter 5 · id zero-to-one-c5-05-amazon-started-by-selling-only

“Amazon started by selling only books -- choosing a small, specific market (beachhead) before expanding. Bezos chose books from a list of 20 product categories because books had 1.3 million titles, no dominant distributor, and low unit prices.”

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Receipts

Brad Stone -- The Everything Store (2013)source alive

Bezos researched 20 product categories and chose books because of the 1.3 million titles in print (more than any physical store could stock), lack of a dominant distributor like Ingram or Baker & Taylor having exclusive control, and low average price making trial purchases easy.

MIT Sloan -- Amazon Beachhead StrategyFLAGGED: dead link (404)

MIT calls Amazon's book focus 'perhaps the greatest beachhead strategy in business history.' The strategy allowed Amazon to perfect logistics, build customer trust, and develop infrastructure before expanding.

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