Amazon founder Jeff Bezos originally started the company as an online store selling books.
Bezos founded the business in 1994, and it began operating as an online bookstore in July 1995. Books were a practical starting category because a single physical shop could not stock every available title, while an online catalog could offer customers far greater selection.
The company was initially called Cadabra, Inc., before adopting the Amazon name. Its early expansion introduced music, videos, electronics, clothing, and many other categories. Amazon eventually developed into a broad technology and commerce company with logistics, advertising, streaming, devices, and cloud-computing operations.
The original bookstore model is often overlooked because Amazon is now associated with a huge marketplace and Amazon Web Services. Its rapid growth helped make the company one of the world’s largest by revenue and market value, but its first retail category remained books.