From Quora, via teleread:
Quote:
one person asked, “Why does Amazon brag incessantly about Kindle sales but refuse to disclose specifics?” And a response came from none other than Vinay Kruvila, whose by-line states he has worked for Amazon for 5 years and is currently its Software Development Manager. He writes:
Amazon is an incredibly data-driven company. Every strategic decision at Amazon is backed by a wealth of data, and is associated with precise, measurable goals. Even every day tactical decisions are largely data-driven. If you follow prices of items on Amazon, you’ll see how the discount on a book can rise from 34% to 37%, from one day to the next. When Amazon considers entering new markets, the sales metrics competitors have released (perhaps, foolishly) are a key data-point.
When you work at Amazon, you realize how important the numbers are. Releasing Kindle sales numbers would only feed into the hands of Amazon’s competitors; there’s a big difference in knowing that the Kindle is the best selling product ever on Amazon and knowing that Amazon sold X million Kindles in 2010. Amazon believes in taking credit for the impressive things we do in ways that are subtle and sophisticated, without providing data that will help current and potential competitors.
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