The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Is Amazon responsible for all the evils attributed to it?

2020-11-17T12:18:19.314Z


The platform is criticized for taking advantage of the health crisis, destroying businesses and jobs, not paying taxes… Our vr


Unparalleled giant, profiteer from the health crisis, destroyer of jobs, bad taxpayer… Amazon, already the object of numerous criticisms, is, moreover, targeted by a forum and a petition.

The column was published on Monday on the Franceinfo site and carried by 120 signatories including members of Attac, the leader of La France rebellious, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the boss of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, who call for the imposition of a exceptional tax on Amazon sales.

The petition, entitled # NoëlsansAmazon and that we are unveiling, aims to “support local employment” by not buying any gifts on the platform.

At the initiative of the deputy (ex-LREM) of Maine-et-Loire, Matthieu Orphelin, it is supported by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and personalities such as the actor Philippe Torreton, about twenty NGOs (Les Amis de la Terre, France Nature Environnement or Greenpeace) as well as the Confederation of French traders.

Overview of the criticisms made of Amazon.

Amazon's commercial weight in France is overwhelming

FALSE.

Amazon is indeed by far the leading e-commerce site in France.

According to 2019 figures from the Federation of Distance Selling (Fevad), Jeff Bezos' firm alone accounts for 22.2% of French online purchases.

It is the leading site for fashion (ahead of Veepee and Vinted), culture (ahead of Fnac and Cultura), electronics and household appliances (ahead of Cdiscount and Fnac), beauty (ahead of Yves Rocher and Sephora) and furniture (ahead of Ikea and Cdiscount ).

But e-commerce still only represents a very small part of retail trade in France, where 90% of sales are made in stores.

With 5.7 billion euros of turnover in France (double if we add that of the sellers of the market place), Amazon is very small compared to the E. Leclerc hypermarkets and their 48 billion euros of turnover or the 38 billion euros of Carrefour.

Moreover, Amazon's market share is much lower in France than in the United States, Great Britain or Germany.

Amazon is the big winner of containment

True and false.

Like those of Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook or Netflix, Amazon's stock market action has soared since the spring, pushing up an additional 13 billion dollars (11 billion euros) (to reach 189 billion euros). dollars - 160 billion euros - in July) the fortune of Jeff Bezos, already ranked the richest man in the world.

Globally, Amazon's net profit grew by $ 6.3 billion in Q3 2020, boosted by 38% sales and 55% growth by third-party companies using its platform.

But in France, the two confinements also resulted in a loss of market share for the American giant: -8% during the first confinement according to Kantar, -2% since the start of the second according to the firm FoxIntelligence.

How is this explained?

First, during the first confinement, Amazon made the choice to close its six main warehouses following a court decision, the unions having demanded better sanitary conditions in the centers.

Then, the French pure-player competitors Cdiscount and Veepee defended themselves well.

Finally, the large closed brands, Fnac-Darty, Leroy Merlin or Ikea have shifted part of their physical sales to the Internet, diluting Amazon's market share.

READ ALSO>

Containment and Christmas shopping: toy stores play their survival


Amazon destroys jobs

DIFFICULT TO KNOW.

For 1 job created by Amazon France Logistique, traditional commerce loses 2.2.

This was calculated by Mounir Mahjoubi, former secretary of state for digital, in November 2019. That is to say a loss of 7,900 jobs in France.

"Each time it conquers a euro in turnover, Amazon needs far fewer employees than other players in the sector to carry it", summarizes Mounir Mahjoubi.

When the study came out, Amazon immediately challenged the methodology.

Massive argument: “According to the Directorate-General for Enterprises, the trade sector has not lost jobs.

He even created more than 100,000 in three years.

"" We employ 9,300 people on permanent contracts and, according to independent studies, around 130,000 jobs result from our activity, "Frédéric Duval, CEO of Amazon France, recently recalled in our columns.

Amazon does not pay its taxes in France

RATHER TRUE.

Accused of transferring all its European profits to its subsidiary Amazon Services Europe, based in Luxembourg, the American giant had always refused to deliver the amount of its taxes paid in France.

In November 2019, under fire from critics, Frédéric Duval finally released the figure of 250 million euros in 2018. The leader does a sleight of hand: he includes in his calculation the corporate tax but also his taxes premises, its employer and employee social contributions and… the VAT paid by its customers!

In 2019, this still all-inclusive figure stands at 420 million euros.

Impossible to know the details.

Newsletter "It pays me"

The newsletter that improves your purchasing power

I'm registering

Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.

Learn more

It was to put an end to the controversial tax practices of digital multinationals that the government voted at the end of 2018 the Gafa tax, which represents 3% of turnover in France.

Customer service is second to none

TRUE.

No one has ever put the customer more at the center of their strategy than Jeff Bezos.

And French customers, like others, ask for more.

53% of French people buy on Amazon.

They applaud the platform for its unrivaled choice of products, ultra-competitive prices and delivery times that are not only fast but on time.

33 million unique visitors visit the site each month.

Source: leparis

All business articles on 2020-11-17

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.