Amazon confirmed this morning that it has finalized the purchase of Zappos.com, paying the popular online shoe and clothing retailer $1.2 billion.
The acquisition was originally announced in late July — Amazon agreed to pay 10 million shares of the company’s common stock and a remaining $40 million in cash and restricted stock. Thanks to a healthier stock market, the stock is now estimated at $1.2 billion, up from $807 million at the time of the original deal.
Zappos.com will continue to operate as a separate brand from Amazon, and its management will remain the same, although chief executive Tony Hsieh wrote in a public letter that a new board would be formed, including people from Amazon and Zappos. The latter will continue to operate out of Las Vegas, Nev.
While the Seattle-based Amazon.com has long been the industry leader in online product distribution and retail sales, it’s not exactly the place you go when you’re looking for a great pair of heels. The company’s initial foray into the world of shoes and handbags, Endless.com, has proved to be fairly unsuccessful — with 777,000 visitors in June, compared to Zappos’ 4.5 million.
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