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CHARLES: EVERYONE'S WAITING FOR
AMAZON.
MEANWHILE THE COMPANY UNDER
PRESSURE TO REVEAL MORE ABOUT
ITS BUSINESS AND THE SOURCE OF
ITS PROFITS.
ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THIS
AMAZON GAIN AD REPUTATION AS AN
INDUSTRY KILLER WITH A VORACIOUS
APPETITE.
NO INDUSTRY IS TOO BIG, OR TOO
SMALL, INCLUDING SELLING LIVE
CHRISTMAS TREES.
WITH THAT IN MIND, MANY SAY
SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO SLOW
DOESN'T BEHEMOTH BEFORE AMAZON
PUTS COMPANIES OUT OF BUSINESS
AND TOO MANY PEOPLE OUT OF WORK.
BEZOS HAS IMPACT ON MANY
INDUSTRIES, PRINTING,
VIDEOCONFERENCING AND GROCERIES.
THE DAY WHOLE FOODS WAS TOOK
OVER, STOCKS WERE ROCKED.
IN MAY OF 2017 REPORTS THAT
AMAZON WAS INTERESTED IN BEING A
MAJOR PLAYER IN PHARMACEUTICALS.
THAT SENT SHARES OF WALGREENS
AND CVS TUMBLING.
THEY HAVEN'T RECOVERED SINCE.
RUMORS OF AMAZON ENTERING
PACKAGE DELIVERY FIRST REPORTED
IN JANUARY OF 2016.
PRESSURING SHARES OF FEDEX AND
UPS, NOW, BOTH ARE HIGHER SINCE
BUT HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY YOU KNOW
PERFORMED THE MARKET.
SO, SHOULD GOVERNMENT INTERVENE
TO STOP AMAZON?
ON IS THIS JUST CREATIVE
DESTRUCTION AT WORK TO BENEFIT
CONSUMERS EVEN IF IT MEANS FEWER
JOBS?
HERE TO DISCUSS, VERONIQUE DE
RUGY.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF AMAZON, THE
BIGGER IT BECOMES MORE OF A
TARGET IT BECOMES.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
FEARS OF BIGGER COMPANIES
BECOMING BIGGER, TAKING OVER
EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES.
ULTIMATELY WHEN THEY ACHIEVED
THE MASSIVE POWER, BECOMING LIKE
TYRANNICAL TO CONSUMERS
PERENNIAL FEAR.
STANDARD OIL, BASICALLY THE
GOVERNMENT BROKE UP AFTER IT
ALREADY LOST A THIRD OF ITS
SHARE IN THE MARKET.
GROCERIES, WHICH MOST PEOPLE
WON'T REMEMBER, A AND P WAS
TALKED ABOUT AS AMAZON.
MICROSOFT IN THE '90s.
IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON.
YEAH, IT'S A TARGET AND I REALLY
HOPE WE'RE GOING TO LEARN FROM
THE PAST.
WE'RE GOING TO LEARN AS LONG AS
THERE IS NOT A GOVERNMENT
PROTECTED MONOPOLY POWER, AS
LONG AS AMAZON IS INNOVATIVE,
YOU KNOW, IT IS GOING TO BE
OKAY.
I BET YOU BY THE WAY MAYBE YOU
AND I WERE NOT GOING TO SEE THE
END OF AMAZON IN OUR ADULT LIFE,
BUT I GUARRANTY YOU WILL BE
LAUGHING AT US TALKING ABOUT
THIS THREAT OF AMAZON.
CHARLES: YOU KNOW, TO YOUR
POINT, IN THIS POLITICAL
ENVIRONMENT AND JUST JUDGING,
THE WAY PEOPLE FEEL, IT SEEMS
LIKE IT IS RIPE THOUGH, AMAZON
IS THE RIPE TARGET BECAUSE --
>> OF COURSE.
CHARLES: THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT
OF EXAMPLES THROUGHOUT HISTORY
BUT IT FEELS LIKE A UNIQUE
COMPANY.
FEELS LIKE NOT ONLY THE SEARS OF
YESTERYEAR, IT IS THE A&P OF
YESTERYEAR.
ALMOST EVERY MAJOR BEHEMOTH THAT
CAME BEFORE IT UNDER ONE ROOF,
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT
IS TOO MUCH POWER.
>> A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID THAT
ABOUT A LOT OF COMPANIES BEFORE.
OH, THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT,
ACTUALLY TURNS OUT NEVER TO BE
DIFFERENT.
AS BIGGER AS AMAZON BECOMES
BIGGER AND BIGGER, WHAT HAPPENS,
THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A HARDER
TIME INNOVATING AND, IF THEY
CAN'T CONTINUE PLEASING
CONSUMERS, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY
THAT IS WHAT COMPANIES ARE FOR,
TO PLEASE CONSUMERS.
CONSUMERS ARE TO ACTUALLY
GUARRANTY INEFFICIENT COMPANIES
STAY IN BUSINESS, AS LONG AS
THEY CONTINUE DOING THIS, THEY
WILL STAY IN BUSINESS BUT AS
THEY GROW BEING INNOVATIVE WILL
BE HARDER AND THE NEXT COMPANY
CAN COME IN AS WE'VE SEEN MANY,
MANY TIMES IN THE PAST AND, AND
WIN THE DAY.
CHARLES: YOU KNOW, IT IS
INTERESTING BECAUSE LISTEN,
THERE IS NO INDUSTRY I DON'T
THINK, WHEN THEY WENT AFTER LIVE
CHRISTMAS TREES THIS CHRISTMAS,
I SAID THAT'S IT, THEY WANT
EVERYTHING.
BUT THEY ARE SPENDING A LOT OF
MONEY NOW.
ALL OF THESE SILICON VALLEY
GIANTS ON NDC, LOBBYING THINGS
LIKE THAT.
WILL THAT BE A NECESSARY THING
FOR THEM TO AT LEAST STAVE OFF
THE URGE FOR WASHINGTON, D.C.
AND OTHERS TO GO AFTER THEM?
>> THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE
CERTAINLY LIKE CAREFUL BECAUSE
THE ATTACKS, SYSTEMATICALLY YOU
SEE IT, WHEN THERE IS A FEAR
ABOUT A COMPANY BECOMING TOO
BIG, THE PEOPLE TURN TO THE
GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS THIS
PROBLEM.
THEN THAT CREATES A LOT OF
PROBLEM.
PEOPLE TEND TO OVERLOOK THE FACT
THAT AMAZON IS NOT JUST A BIG
COMPANY DOING EVERYTHING ITSELF.
IT IS ACTUALLY FOUND A WAY WHERE
IT IS INTEGRATING A LOT OF OTHER
COMPANIES, ALLOWING THEM TO SELL
ON ITS PLATFORM.
CHARLES: RIGHT.
>> IT IS NOT JUST LIKE, IT IS
NOT DOING IT ALL ITSELF.
CHARLES: SURE.
>> IT IS ACTUALLY PROVIDING A
LOT OF SERVICES FOR MUCH SMALLER
COMPANIES BUT THEY ARE GOING TO
BE CAREFUL.
CHARLES: I WAS GOING TO SAY, THE
MOST RECENT EXAMPLE OF THAT,
SOUTH CAROLINA.
MERCEDES IS NOW MANUFACTURING
ALL OF THOSE GREAT VANS IN
SOUTH CAROLINA.
THEY HAVE EXPANDED THE FACTORY.