Why Is It Called Zappos? [Here’s Everything We Know]

Why Is It Called Zappos

Hello everyone! Welcome to the website where today, we want to ask you a question; have you ever heard of the brand “Zappos”? Yes? No? Even before wondering what it actually does for business, you must be asking yourself…why is it called Zappos?

Well, if it wasn’t a burning question before, we are sure it is now. And today, we will be diving into detail to know a little bit more about the company and the answer to the question ‘why is Zappos called Zappos’?

Why Is Zappos Called Zappos?

Zappos is primarily known as a shoe-selling retailer; though it does deal in more than just selling shoes. Eyewear, clothes, handbags, watches, and other merchandise are all part of the company’s catalog.

It was launched in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and its base is set up in Las Vegas, United States of America. Eventually, it was turned into a subsidiary of Amazon after it was bought out by the latter in 2009 in a huge deal worth 1.2 billion dollars.

Zappos In 1999

It also sponsors highway miles, which could be an effective way to market its products as people would normally see a Zappos board or sign and probably wonder what it is exactly. And the catchy name has probably aided in the business too.

Speaking of the name, you must be wondering why is it called Zappos?

There are certainly solid reasons behind the eye-catching name, and it is not a random name assigned to the firm.

It wasn’t even called Zappos when the company was born. Back then, it was called shoesite.com, but after some time the company decided to re-brand itself; and hence the name “Zappos” was settled upon.

People often mistake “Zappos” as an extension of the word “Zap” which means very fast in the English dictionary. In context, people claim that it refers to the very fast shipping of shoes offered by the company. But in reality, the name is not taken from the English language but from Spanish.

“Zapatos” in Spanish means “shoes” and hence, they decided to name the company after that. They could have named it “Zapatos” itself too but they eventually felt that they didn’t want to restrict the goal of the company to selling shoes only. And later, they extended dealing with more products as mentioned before.

So, this was the story of why is it called Zappos. We hope that you liked the story.

Conclusion

Branding means taking ordinary words and making them mean something to the general public through hard work, ingenuity, and ethics. Whether it is Amazon, Flipkart, Tesla, Zomato, or any other brand, there’s probably a story behind their name and it usually relates to their identity or goals they set out to achieve.

Hope you enjoyed the article. And, if you love our series of how brands got their names, let us know in the comment section.