Industry loses e-commerce pioneer Tony Hsieh of Zappos

Tony Hsieh

Tony Hsieh, the magnanimous entrepreneur who revolutionized shoe retail with Zappos.com, died as a result of a house fire at the age of 46, according to a Yahoo News report.

Hsieh's family confirmed his death Friday in a text message to friends. He died from injuries sustained in a Connecticut house fire.

Hsieh co-founded Zappos in 1999 and built it into a large business before selling it to Amazon in 2009.

"The world has lost a tremendous visionary and an incredible human being," Zappos CEO Kedar Deshpande said in a note to employees Friday. "We recognize that not only have we lost our inspiring former leader, but many of you have also lost a mentor and a friend. Tony played such an integral part in helping create the thriving Zappos business we have today, along with his passion for helping to support and drive our company culture."

Hsieh retired and stepped down from the Zappos helm this summer.

Photo: LinkedIn.