Zappos.com was acquired by Amazon.com today for a deal worth around $850 million (actually, with the bump in Amazon stock, the deal is now worth closer to $900M).

Zappos is a great example of creating a brand and redefining an industry. According to their website, Swinmurn started the company after a frustrating search for shoes. One store would have the style, but not in his size. Another would have the right size, but in a different color. And searching online was not much better.

The idea was simple…sell lots of shoes. How do you get people to start buying shoes online? You carry lots of styles and product lines and you carry them in all sizes and colors. And to get over the hurdle of shipping costs, you ship the shoes for free. And from there an internet giant was born.

Congratulations, Zappos.

Just as I did when I wrote about it in March, I still think it’s just rebranding for rebranding’s sake.

I think it’s funny, though, that major media are just now picking up on this. Do a quick Google search and you’ll find articles in the New York Daily News, the UK’s Guardian, UPI, Wired and many more.

The 989 Design blog had the story in March. I scooped them all!