電子商務：維尼特?巴拉拉與馬克?勞

亞馬遜旗下Quidsi公司創始人

????維尼特?巴拉拉與馬克?勞是發小。2005年，兩人合作成立了Diapers.com網站。傳統觀點認為，在線銷售散裝商品無利可圖。但巴拉拉與勞對這種言論卻并不買賬。在商業計劃書中，他們把尿不濕定位成“為招攬客戶虧本出售的商品以及建立客戶關系的媒介”。便宜的尿不濕可以吸引忙碌的媽媽們。而通過免費、快速的送貨服務和高度個性化的客戶服務，Diapers.com能夠爭取到足夠多的客戶。媽媽們會再次訪問這個網站，而這次買的就不僅是尿不濕，還有一些價格更昂貴的商品，比如折疊式嬰兒車和玩具等。

????巴拉拉和勞把他們的公司命名為Quidsi，在拉丁語中意為“如果……會怎樣？”他們建立了一個非常講究的、一目了然的門面，目前里面存放了超過25，000件嬰兒用品。其后，他們建立起復雜而精細的物流系統和日臻完善的企業。他們設計了一款軟件，可以從23個不同尺寸的箱子中，找出貨運成本最低的那一個。勞發明了一種算法，來確定精確的庫存數量以及何時補充庫存。而且，Quidsi對貨運商的選擇范圍廣泛而靈活，不僅有當地的貨運商，也包括業務范圍覆蓋全國的貨運商。這不但降低了成本，還能保證訂單準時送達。

????鑒于亞馬遜（Amazon）在價格與貨運方面已經占據先機，所以很顯然，僅靠這些策略并不足以使Quidsi勝出。然而，正如媽媽們平常所做的，她們光顧了網站，然后她們會告訴朋友：再也不用深夜為了買尿不濕奔波，或者到好市多（Costco）排隊買嬰兒食品了。去年，Diapers.com的收入達到3億美元。其中包括生活必需品專營網站Soap.com的收入。這家網站成立于2010年，可以為媽媽們提供其他25，000件商品。Soap.com與Diapers.com使用相同的結賬系統，并堅持相同的價值定位：低廉價格，優質服務，快速送達。

????很明顯，Quidsi在謀求獲得更多，所以去年11月份，亞馬遜收購這家公司，就沒什么大驚小怪的了（最終價格：5.45億美元）。但這家西雅圖網絡零售業巨頭看中的不是Quidsi忠誠的客戶群或物流業務；公司得到的是巴拉拉和勞這個天才二人組，他們將繼續在新澤西總部負責Quidsi的運營。今年7月，Quidsi團隊又成立了寵物用品銷售網站Wag.com。Quidsi的創始人一定能扭轉Pets.com的頹勢，不信就拭目以待吧。美國精品投資銀行Stifel Nicolaus的網絡分析師喬丹?羅翰表示：“低利潤和免費貨運一直是亞馬遜的王牌。而馬克與維尼特卻勇敢地闖入了亞馬遜的地盤，而且還取得了成功。”

E-commerce: Vinit Bharara and Marc Lore

Founders, Quidsi

Amazon

????When childhood friends Vinit Bharara and Marc Lore launched Diapers.com in 2005, conventional wisdom said you couldn't make money selling bulk commodities online. Bharara and Lore weren't buying it. Their business plan envisioned diapers as a "loss leader and relationship builder." Low-priced diapers would get busy moms in the door. Diapers.com would win those moms over via free, fast shipping and high-touch customer service. Moms would return to buy not just diapers but also pricier gear like strollers and toys.

????Bharara and Lore called their new company Quidsi, Latin for "What if?" They built an elegant, intuitive storefront that now stocks more than 25,000 baby items. Behind it, they set up a sophisticated logistics and fulfillment enterprise. They designed software that determines which of 23 different-sized boxes should be used to ship an order at the lowest possible price. Lore created an algorithm to determine precise inventory amounts and when to reorder. And Quidsi uses a range of national and local shippers to keep costs down and make sure orders arrive on time.

????Given that Amazon was already winning the price and delivery game, this wasn't obviously a winning strategy. But the moms came, and as moms do, they told their friends: No more late night diaper runs or standing in line at Costco to buy formula. Last year, Diapers.com posted $300 million in revenue. That included sales from Soap.com, a dedicated site for household essentials, which launched in July 2010 and offered moms another 25,000 items to buy. Soap.com shares a checkout cart with Diapers.com and offers the same value proposition: low prices, great service, fast delivery.

????Clearly the Quidsi guys were onto something, so it came as little surprise when Amazon scooped up the company last November (final price: $545 million). But the giant Seattle e-tailer didn't just get Quidsi's loyal customer base or logistics operation; it acquired the genius duo of Bharara and Lore, who continue to run Quidsi from its headquarters in New Jersey. This past July the Quidsi team launched pet supply site Wag.com. Bet on Quidsi's founders to overturn the hapless legacy of Pets.com. Says Jordan Rohan, an Internet analyst at boutique investment bank Stifel Nicolaus: "Marc and Vinit ventured boldly into Amazon's province, the land of low margins and free shipping, and they emerged victorious."