Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said the e-commerce giant has exceeded 100 million paid Prime subscribers and will continue to invest to meet “ever-rising” customer expectations.

Bezos noted the milestone in his annual shareholder letter, published Wednesday. The letter is the founder’s opportunity to underline his long-term strategy for investors, building a brick-and-mortar presence, and inventing new products like Echo speakers and the Alexa voice-activated digital assistant.

Prime subscribers pay monthly or annual fees in exchange for free shipping of online orders, music and video streaming and free online photo storage. The memberships encourage consumers to shop more with Amazon to get their money’s worth, similar to warehouse clubs like Costco Wholesale Corp. Amazon took its memberships a step further with additional digital perks, and sells add-ons like a more robust music catalog for an additional monthly fee.

ON THE MOVE

Bank of Hawaii has announced a new hire:

>> Ed Hudson is the bank’s new vice president and director of development in the People Services Group, where he will lead the Learning and Organizational Development department to help prepare employees for success today and in the workplace of tomorrow. Prior to joining Bank of Hawaii, Hudson served in organizational development and human resources for various technology companies in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years.