EBay CEO's strategy to beat Amazon is to not be Amazon

Seattle

EBay Inc chief executive officer Devin Wenig took the stage in a Las Vegas convention centre with arms raised like a prized fighter after winning a stunning upset. This was the first time in eight years that EBay had gathered such a large group of sellers in one place to give them a chance to eat, drink, mingle and get the lowdown from the CEO.

Mr Wenig, in the job for about a year, knew that he had some cheerleading to do. EBay has struggled to make headway against Amazon.com Inc, and many of these product-peddling merchants - long the lifeblood of EBay's online bazaar - have been putting their wares on the Seattle giant's site to boost their sales.

For Mr Wenig, like his predecessor John Donahoe, EBay's perennial challenge remains confronting the Amazon threat while keeping investors, merchants and shoppers happy. But rather than beat Amazon at its own game - selling virtually everything to anyone and delivering it lickety-split - Mr Wenig wants EBay to be the anti-Amazon, excelling in areas where Amazon lags. He is emboldened by forecasts showing that e-commerce remains in its infancy, meaning that there is plenty of room for lots of players to grow and prosper. "The world doesn't have to choose between Amazon or EBay," he said in an interview in Las Vegas. "The world can comfortably …