Amazon is having competition in southeast Asian markets but from itself? The Samwer brothers, who are known for copying American businesses and launching copycat versions have just released a copy on Amazon.com. Lazada.com, their new website, copies the layour and even color scheme of Amazon. They are targeting southeast Asian countries that have not been locked up by Amazon yet. So far the brothers have made over a $1 billion dollars by copying sites like Ebay, Pinterest, etc. Their effectiveness comes out of a well-funded "clone factory." This however brings up the question that if websites can be successfully copied and can become popular in smaller markets, what's to prevent their reach into larger albeit still international markets?
Copyright laws will protect these copycats from competing with their original American versions but overseas, especially in countries with more relaxed copyright laws, these sites may thrive. It's a delicate balance the Samwer brothers must manage but it does show that copycat websites can be successful and that brand name does not mean the same thing all over the world.
The full article can be found at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/german-copycats-clone-amazon-dot-com
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