Update : This shop has existed since 2018 and was therefore not specifically created in response to the current situation. However, its recent promotion is not insignificant.
As France placed its entire population under lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 , more than 200,000 businesses across the country were forced to close their doors. This critical situation sparked a wave of anger towards e-commerce giants , due to perceived unfair competition. In this context, and to show its support for local businesses, the government called on the French to buy domestically produced goods, particularly through retailers other than Amazon . In response, Jeff Bezos’s company launched a “Made in France” shop on its website. Was this a way to support the French economy or a snub to the government and small businesses?
E-commerce giants are provoking the anger of small French retailers
As the holiday season approaches, and after several months of enforced closures, retailers fear that the new lockdown implemented on October 30, 2020, will be a fatal blow. Alongside their fear, they also feel a sense of injustice, anger, and powerlessness in the face of e-commerce giants like Amazon , which continue to thrive and profit from the health crisis. As a reminder, in the second quarter of 2020, Jeff Bezos’s company doubled its profits compared to the same period the previous year.
These feelings are all the more heightened as Black Friday rapidly approaches . A key event for retailers, since beyond the exceptional promotions that drive customers to spend on that particular day, it also marks the start of holiday shopping . However, on November 27th, small businesses deemed non-essential will still be closed, and without taking too much of a risk, we can already predict that the e-commerce giants will once again reap the rewards.
Last Friday, the National Council of Shopping Centers denounced the following : “The French are officially encouraged to use the services of the worst competitors of physical commerce: international e-commerce platforms. These predators thrive while practically paying no tax, destroying jobs (…) and polluting cities with their vans and packaging by constantly selling at a loss.”
In response to these concerns, the government asked Amazon to suspend its advertising campaign promoting Black Friday on its platform. Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate for Industry, explained on Europe 1 : “I asked Amazon to suspend the pre-Black Friday campaign because it was completely inappropriate at a time when 200,000 retailers are going to have to close their doors . “
Amazon opens “the shop for French companies”
While Jeff Bezos’s company complied with the French government’s request, it also simultaneously launched a “French Businesses Shop” on its platform. Within this shop, and as the name suggests, consumers will find products exclusively made in France, across a wide range of categories: home, groceries, fashion, office supplies, high-tech, jewelry, sports, leisure, and more. All sectors appear to be represented, aiming to meet the diverse needs of customers with products “made in France.”
One question remains, however: what are Amazon’s real intentions with the opening of this store? To support the French economy and its brands? Perhaps, but clearly, it’s not just that. Faced with the anger of shopkeepers at the government’s directives calling on the French to support their local businesses, Jeff Bezos’s company is primarily pulling off a major PR coup to absolve its customers of guilt , showing them that it’s not the big bad guy killing small French businesses, but that, on the contrary, it supports them.
In reality, the outcome of this campaign to absolve small businesses of guilt is likely to be even more dramatic . Customers will probably feel reassured, believing they are supporting French brands by buying their products from Amazon, while brick-and-mortar retailers continue to struggle. Once again, we are witnessing a David and Goliath battle, and until there is greater regulation of Big Tech , the outcome of this fight seems inevitable for the time being.
Leave a Reply