Amazon At 25: A Fascinating Journey Through Retail History

In July 1994, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com. Twenty-five years later, he is the wealthiest man in the world and Amazon controls 50% of the online business in the U.S. with no signs of slowing down. I have been tracking developments in the world of retail for an even longer period of time (by writing for Retail Watch which began publishing in July 1986) and wish I could tell you that I saw it coming. Amazon didn’t even make my radar until May 1997, when I wrote about its IPO and book wars with Barnes & Noble. And at that time, the internet was still a dial-up, text-heavy, largely unsearchable world where, I noted, a phone line would take your order if you were uncomfortable providing credit card details online. Much has changed at Amazon—and in the world of retail—in 25 years. Read more at Forbes.