CEO of Zappos.com to Speak on How He Built and Sold a $900M Company

Fresh off a more than $900M deal with Amazon, Tony Hsieh will share his story at the Inc. 500|5000 Conference, September 23-25, in National Harbor, Md.

inc5000event.com - August 04, 2009

(PRNewsChannel) / Washington, D.C. / With nearly $928 million changing hands in a complex deal involving stock shares, options, and cash, one might expect Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh to use powerful, sweeping language to describe Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) acquisition of his company.  Instead, Hsieh says he’d prefer a headline on the deal that read, “Zappos and Amazon sitting in a tree…”  It’s that kind of attitude that’s helped Hsieh form a customer service and employee relations style worthy of leading Zappos to the billion dollar sales benchmark.  Hsieh is among a stellar speaker line-up of business experts and innovators scheduled to speak at the 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference, September 23-25, in National Harbor, Md., just minutes from Washington, D.C.   

 

Amazon’s agreement to acquire Zappos.com involves Amazon acquiring all of the outstanding shares, options and warrants of Zappos in exchange for nearly 10 million shares of Amazon common stock, equal to about $888 million.  Zappos employees will also receive $40 million in cash and restricted units.  The deal’s total price tag is nearly $928 million, which begs the question, what made the clothing, accessories and footwear e-retail giant so appealing to Amazon?

 

“A big part of the reason why Amazon is interested in us is because they recognize the value of our culture, our people, and our brand,” says Hsieh in an e-mail circulated to employees and posted on the company’s blog site.  “Their desire is for us to continue to grow and develop our culture (and perhaps even a little bit of our culture may rub off on them).”

 

Hsieh will share these and other growth secrets at the 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference which commemorates the 28th anniversary of the event.  Inc. published a ranking of the 100 fastest-growing small public American companies in its first issue in 1979 before expanding the concept in 1982 to publishing the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.  The following year, Inc. expanded the list to include 500 companies.  Previous honorees include business institutions like Microsoft, Oracle, Intuit, GoDaddy, Under Armour, Jamba Juice, Timberland, Clif Bar, Patagonia, American Apparel, and hundreds of other powerhouses.  In 2007, Inc.com published the first-ever Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies while Inc. published the top 10% of the list in print with the annual Inc. 500 issue.

 

The deal between Amazon and Zappos is expected to close during the fall of 2009 and according to Hsieh’s e-mail to his employees, the Zappos management team will remain intact.  That’s no surprise, considering Amazon.com Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos holds the Zappos business philosophy in such high esteem.

 

“Zappos is a customer focused company,” says Bezos in an Amazon.com statement.  “We see great opportunities for both companies to learn from each other and create even better experiences for our customers.”

 

Through both a successful career and a passion to unlock the secrets of human happiness, Hsieh has cultivated a message of positive company culture that he will bring to Inc.’s 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony, September 23-25, in National Harbor, Md.

 

Contact: 

Athena Schindelheim

Special Projects Manager, Inc.

Email:

Phone: 212.389.5451

 

About the Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony:  The 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony celebrates the 28th anniversary of Inc. magazine's revered ranking of America's fastest-growing privately held companies.  The momentous event brings together current Inc. 5000 honorees and alumni of the list, along with the greater business community to recognize the remarkable achievements of these companies and the great contributions they have made to the global economy.  The 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony is set for September 23-25 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.  For more information about the 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony and to register, visit: www.Inc5000event.com.  Stay connected with Inc. Events by following @IncEvents on Twitter.

 

About Inc. magazine:  Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. magazine (www.inc.com) is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders.  With a total paid circulation of more than 700,000, Inc. provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology.

 

About Tony Hsieh:  Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos.com, the massively successful online clothing, accessories and footwear retailer that has been named one of the best places to work in America.  Partially due to his innovative customer service and employee happiness philosophy, Hsieh has guided Zappos.com from a run of the mill online shoe store in 1999 to a billion dollars in gross sales in 2008.  Prior to joining Zappos, Hsieh co-founded Venture Frogs, an incubator and investment firm specializing in Internet startups, and also co-founded LinkExchange, an advertising network that was sold to Microsoft for $265M in 1998.

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