How Zappos Shoes In Success

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Online retailer Zappos has put having fun at the heart of its public image and corporate culture. That, along with a smart, ever-evolving business plan anchored in superlative customer service, has made it one of the rarest of business phenomena--an enterprise that thrives by breaking nearly every rule of retailing, online and off. Here’s how they did it--and you can, too.

Whenever he meets someone, Tony Hsieh asks whether the person has ever shopped at Zappos.com, the online shoe store he heads. One day, Hsieh’s question triggered a harangue. The man’s wife had spent $60,000 in one year on Zappos. “I should pay you to remove [her] name from your database,” he said. Hsieh was inspired. Soon afterward, he announced that his shoe store would offer a “Cease and Desist” service. For the modest sum of $50,000, Zappos would agree to permanently disable the account of a wife, husband, or significant other. No one has accepted that tongue-in-cheek offer. But the whole caper was of a piece with a company that has put having fun at the heart of its public image and corporate culture. That, along with a smart, ever-evolving business plan anchored in superlative customer service, has made Zappos one of the rarest of business phenomena--an enterprise that thrives by breaking nearly every rule of retailing, online and off.

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