It's first shareholder letter in 1997.

This is day one for the internet and if we execute well for Amazon.

Today online commerce saves customers money and precious time.

Tomorrow through personalization, online commerce will accelerate the very process of

discovery.

Amazon uses the internet to create real value for its customers, and by doing so hopes to create an enduring franchise

even in established and large markets.

We have a window of opportunity as larger players marshalled the resources to pursue the online opportunity and as customers, new to purchasing online, are receptive to forming new relationships.

Our goal is to move quickly to solidify and extend our current position

while we begin to pursue the online commerce opportunities in other areas.

We see substantial opportunity in the large markets that we are targeting.

This strategy is not without risk. It requires serious investment and crisp execution against established leaders.

We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create

over the long term.

The stronger or market leadership the more powerful or economic model.

Market leadership can translate directly to higher revenue, higher profitability,

greater capital velocity, and correspondingly stronger returns on invested capital.

We have invested and will continue to invest aggressively to expand and leverage our customer base, brand, and infrastructure as we move to establish an enduring franchise.

There's that word again.

We're right in the beginning, he's already said that we used the word enduring twice.

Because of our emphasis on the long term,

we may make decisions and weigh tradeoffs differently than some companies.

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