I'm taking business classes right now, so I can comment on some of your points, in particular this one: "Pick up a book on sales, and it'll most likely tell yo

I'm taking business classes right now, so I can comment on some of your points, in particular this one: "Pick up a book on sales, and it'll most likely tell you not to cannibalize existing product lines " Current books explicitly advice to be willing to cannibalize, for example Jakki Mohr's (I took classes with her): http://books.google.com.uy/books?id=8LJwaPuuQagC&lpg=PA87&dq=cannibalize&pg=PA87#v=onepage&q=cannibalize&f=false http://books.google.com.uy/books?id=8LJwaPuuQagC&lpg=PA8... based on this paper: http://www.jstor.org/pss/3152166 http://www.jstor.org/pss/3152166 I also took a course on Strategy, and it did endorse Amazon's strategy, by focusing on the shift from the traditional "choose a generic strategy" (as in Porter's framework) to developing capabilities (such as Amazon's logistics) and then entering sectors where you have said competitive advantages. We also talked about umbrella brands, its pros and cons, it's by no means a given that extending is bad. Some of your points are indeed presented that way (for example it's still common to recommend outsourcing), but others are now taught differently.