One of the overlooked tidbits in Amazon.com’s recent quarterly earnings report is that North American sales continue to grow at a robust pace, equalling the growth rate in international markets.
But that breakdown naturally will start to change, especially if a report in The Times of India proves true. According to the publication, Amazon is setting up distribution facilities and hiring aggressively in India in anticipation of a launch some time next year. It also is reportedly in talks with leading e-commerce providers in India, including Flipkart.com, LetsBuy.com and Exclusively.in.
Citing an unnamed source, The Times reports that the company is currently building a team of 200 people in India for e-commerce operations. It already operates engineering centers in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
India, as the second largest country on the planet, does represent a big market opportunity. But poor infrastructure and a lack of broadband penetration (and computer use in general) could hamper the online retailer’s prospects in the country, reports The Christian Science Monitor.
Meanwhile, Vivek Dehejia, a Mumbai-based economist, tells The Independent that he’s skeptical about Amazon’s chances in the market. “In terms of net access, it’s still a relatively tiny number of well-to-do people who have regular access to do online shopping,” he said.
International segment sales at Amazon accounted for $4.51 billion during the second quarter, up 51 percent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, during the same period, sales at the North American operations grew 51 percent to $5.41 billion.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com’s shares soared nearly four percent Wednesday on a day that Wall Street took a big hit. Amazingly, the stock has more than doubled from its high during the first dot-com boom. Trading at an all-time high, it now has a market value of $101 billion.
Previously on GeekWire: “Amazon sales up 51 percent, company adds another 5,300 employees”
