Which e-commerce company owns Zappos?

Amazon owns Zappos. The online shoe and clothing retailer became an Amazon subsidiary after Amazon acquired it in 2009.

Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and initially launched as ShoeSite.com. The name Zappos was adopted later, inspired by zapatos, the Spanish word for shoes. Tony Hsieh joined the business and helped turn its customer-service culture into a major competitive advantage.

Amazon announced the acquisition on July 22, 2009. The deal was structured primarily with Amazon stock and included employee compensation; its reported value changed as the transaction terms and share price were assessed. The acquisition closed later that year, commonly reported at approximately $1.2 billion.

Zappos continued operating as a distinct brand rather than simply disappearing into Amazon.com. That independence is why shoppers may still encounter Zappos branding, policies and website operations separately from Amazon’s main retail platform. Alibaba, eBay and Walmart have no ownership stake in Zappos comparable to Amazon’s parent-subsidiary relationship.