Germany’s antitrust control body has filed an Amazon investigation (AMZN) to determine whether the online retail giant has abused its developing dominance in the market by setting costs there.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Andreas Mundt, the head of the Federal Cartel Office, said his firm would read about Amazon’s quotes with third-party investors selling products on its website.
“Lately we’re investigating how Amazon influences the prices of external investors in the market,” Mundt said.
He said that after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and shoppers have migrated online since the closure of so many physical retail outlets, court cases have been filed that Amazon has blocked some stores because their prices are supposed to exceed high prices.
“Amazon is not a worthwhile driver. This applies even now,” Mundt said.
Mundt added that Amazon cooperates with the agency’s investigation.
Deutsche Welle reported that Amazon had about 13,000 full-time in Germany, which is the company’s second largest global market after the United States.
Amazon has denied the accusation.
“Amazon’s sales partners set the value of their own products in our store,” said a corporate spokeswoman. “Our systems are designed to combat worthwhile abuse.”
Reuters reported that until 2013, Amazon banned merchants from promoting their products on other online sites at a lower value than on their own site. Germany’s antitrust control body has forced the company to abandon the practice.
In 2019, Amazon agreed with the German antitrust authority for its terms of service for external traders, which led the control body to cancel a seven-month investigation.
The new German investigation comes just a week after the Canadian government’s Competition Office said it would read about whether Amazon is influencing the festival and hurting consumers and businesses in Canada.
The office said its research will read about all Amazon policies beyond or existing that may simply “affect the willingness of third-party distributors to offer their products for sale at a lower value in other retail channels, such as their own or in other online markets.” . “
In an appearance before the House’s antitrust, advertising and administrative legislation subcommittee last month, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the retail market is enough for many corporations to compete and thrive.
“The place in the global retail market we compete in is remarkable and incredibly competitive,” Bezos said. “Amazon accounts for less than 1% of the global retail market of $25 trillion and less than 4% of U.S. retail.
Bezos also noted that third-party sales now account for 60% of parts presented on Amazon.
“We didn’t have to invite dealers outside the store,” he said. “We may have reserved these valuable assets. But we are committed to the concept that, in the long run, this would increase the variety of visitors and that more satisfied consumers would be the best for third-party distributors and for Amazon.”