Zappos and its CEO Tony Hsieh were profiled on ABC. Zappos, if you don’t know, is an online shoe store with over 1,000 brands and 4 million pairs of shoes. (If you were wondering, the name Zappos is an adaptation of the Spanish word for “shoe.”) The nine year old company is on track to sell $1 billion in shoes. (That’s a whole lotta shoes.) Headquartered in Las Vegas, the company prides itself on its company culture and customer service.
The company culture starts at the top with the CEO. Tony Hsieh makes about $36k a year. (Don’t worry about his pay. He sold LinkExchange in the dot com days to Microsoft for about $250 Million.) Watching the video you will see that employees work hard and have fun at the same time. (It’s like Tony transported some of the glory day of Internet startups to Vegas. There are free food and snacks. (Remember those days.) And 100% of medial and dental are paid for by the company.
This company culture is exemplified in Zappos customer service – Free shipping both ways with a 365-day return policy. (At our office, we see Zappos boxes all the time.) While 95% of the business is online, Zappos customer service is trained thoroughly to support any calls that come in. Here’s the Zappos.com Core Values:
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble
These core values and customer service is part of the Zappos brand and that has driven customer loyalty. If you don’t believe that, take a look at the revenue growth at Zappos:
1999: Almost nothing
2000: $ 1.6 mm
2001: $ 8.6 mm
2002: $ 32 mm
2003: $ 70 mm
2004: $184 mm
2005: $370 mm
2006: $597 mm
2007: $850 mm
2008: $1 billion+
While their foundation is shoes, Zappos has since branched off to handbags, clothing, eyewear, watches, accessories, and possibly even airlines. You can experience Zappos firsthand, shop at Zappos.com
Watch the Tony Hsieh and Zappos.com on ABC
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