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🚨 Breaking News 🚨 Amazon Faces 10 Million Euro Fine for Unfair Trade Practices! The Italian antitrust authority AGCM has imposed a hefty fine of 10 million euros on ecommerce giant Amazon for unfair trade practices. This fine targets two of Amazon's subsidiaries: Amazon Services Europe and Amazon EU. This isn't the first time Amazon has come under scrutiny in Europe. In Germany, the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has investigated Amazon's activities, resulting in a significant fine of 746 million euros imposed by the European Union in 2021. Additionally, in the same year, AGCM levied a record penalty of 1.13 billion euros against Amazon. This penalty was associated with Fulfilment by Amazon, which was found to have abused its market dominance and disadvantaged competitors, according to the regulator. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dqhkZTPm ........ #amazon #ebiztoday #ecommerce #ecommercebusiness #europe

This article documents an interesting debate over what constitutes fair trade practices: "The [U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)] accused Amazon of using a variety of "anti-discounting tactics to prevent rivals from growing by offering lower prices" and of using "coercive tactics," particularly with its order fulfillment service, to prevent competitors from achieving the necessary scale to compete effectively." #Amazon #fairtrade #monopoly #FTC #freemarket #publicgood #legalnews

172 page suit. Meaty. But what will the outcome be and how long will it take to resolve? Fair markets benefit all and I see a ton of potential. Before we really start to live in Wall-E's world. Hot takes? #amazon #antitrust #ecommerce

With today's good news that the #DUP are to return to #powersharing in #northernireland, I can't help wondering what they will say on the 13th December when the #GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation) kicks in and many British #retailers may refuse to sell (or be prevented from selling) to that part of the #UK? #EU #BREXIT #amazon #ecommerce

If you are interested in learning more about the FTC’s recent antitrust suit against Amazon for its marketplace and fulfillment practices, see the below blog post from my colleagues and I at V&E.

Original disruptor reponding to new disruptors. https://lnkd.in/eAaKtAUk Looks like #Amazon responding to arrival and growth of #Temu and #Schein. Watching to see how this plays out. #retail #onlineshopping

Is Amazon just another retailer? The Federal Trade Commission doesn’t think so.: https://lnkd.in/gP-8i9S8 The e-commerce giant and others skeptical of the commission’s antitrust claims say the FTC has an uphill court battle, in part because Amazon’s behavior is just old-fashioned retail. About 20 years ago, Jeff Bezos told CNET Magazine that the then-eight-year-old company wanted to become “something completely new” in retail. “There is no physical analog for what Amazon.com is becoming,” he said. “And our vision hasn’t changed at all the last few years.” In a complaint against Amazon alleging anticompetitive behavior, the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from 17 states echo this, but also say those days are gone. Their lawsuit alleges “a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” especially toward the marketplace sellers that are responsible for moving 60% of the merchandise sold on the site. #ecommercebusiness #ecommercesolutions #ecommerce #ecommercesuccess #ecommercegrowthpartner #ecommerceacceleration #omnichannelretail #ecommercestrategy #ecommercetrends #ecommercenews #ecommercegrowth

Can Amazon 'have its cake & eat it too' by being both unique and 'just like other retailers', depending on the situation/benefit? Your thoughts? Excerpts: About 20 years ago, Jeff Bezos told CNET Magazine that the then-eight-year-old company wanted to become “something completely new” in retail. “There is no physical analog for what Amazon.com is becoming,” he said. “And our vision hasn’t changed at all the last few years.” “The early days of online trade were bursting with possibility,” the FTC writes in court documents. “Competition flourished. A newly connected nation saw a wide-open frontier where anyone with a good idea would have a fair shot at success. Today, however, this wide-open frontier has been enclosed. A single company, Amazon, has seized control over much of the online retail economy.” As the e-commerce giant is preparing to face these claims in court, several analysts, and the company itself, seem to be shying away from the idea that Amazon is a unique and powerful player. What the FTC describes as anticompetitive, they argue, is commonplace in the retail industry and has been for decades. “Amazon may not be the small business it once was, but we’re still just a piece of a massive and robust retail market with numerous options for consumers and sellers,” David Zapolsky, Amazon general counsel and senior vice president of global public policy, said in a blog post on Sept. 26, following up on initial comments on the FTC’s move. Walmart’s recent assertiveness around its own online marketplace and pricing initiatives, which several analysts see as taking share from Amazon, Target and others, is further proof that Amazon has plenty of competition, others say. Arun Sundaram, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, (like many commenting on the long-anticipated FTC antitrust action), used the words “uphill battle.” Also like others, he predicted little would change at Amazon as a result of it. Put simply, the FTC alleges that Amazon exercises power over its marketplace sellers, to their detriment as well as consumers’. The e-commerce giant locks sellers into its ecosystem — both its Prime membership audience as well as its warehouse and fulfillment network — slaps them with rising fees and hampers their ability to sell via their own websites or other platforms, according to the FTC complaint and some sellers themselves. “What we need to focus on here is that millions of Americans, who were trying to save money by comparing prices on the online shopping platform, were, in fact, cheated out of buying merchandise at a competitive price and higher quality, via a degraded online shopping experience,” Asciolla said. “This is just another example of a corporate behemoth using its market power to enrich itself while blatantly taking advantage of consumers.” #amazon #retail