Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder has every right to be concerned about the impending arrival of the Online Gorilla Amazon to our shores

Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder has every right to be concerned about the impending arrival of the Online Gorilla Amazon to our shores. Amazon.com has generated a cumulative $315 billion in sales since 1997. Its cumulative profits during this period are less than $2 billion. Its lifetime profitability, then, is about a half of 1 per cent. This might be normal for a start-up, but if Amazon were a person, it would be old enough to vote, drink and buy cigarettes. Companies its age usually aim for steady and reliable profits. Amazon doesn't. It reported a small loss last quarter. All the company seems to care about is revenue, revenue, revenue. How will Australian businesses possibly compete? Critics are stomping their feet and wondering when - or if - CEO Jeff Bezos will shift tactics and attempt to turn a real profit. (Soure: Morgan Housel, Motley Fool)