Amazon Is Fined $1.3 Billion by Italy’s Antitrust Regulators – The New York Times

Most of the products available on Amazon are offered by outside vendors who use Amazon’s site as a marketplace to reach customers. Amazon takes a percentage of each sale. For an additional cost, the company offers Fulfillment by Amazon, which allows vendors to store their products in Amazon’s warehouses and delivery system, as well as programs for inventory management, returns and customer service.

Amazon said it would appeal the ruling. Fulfillment by Amazon is an optional offering, the company said, and a majority of third-party merchants selling products on Amazon do not use the company’s logistics system. The company said there were other methods for outside vendors to reach Prime customers other than Fulfillment by Amazon.

“We strongly disagree with the decision of the Italian Competition Authority,” the company said. “The proposed fine and remedies are unjustified and disproportionate.”

Amazon has invested heavily in Italy, a market once resistant to e-commerce that came to embrace it during the pandemic. In Italy, Amazon has built fulfillment warehouses and other parts of its logistics system to help draw customers with speedy delivery.

In addition to the fine, Italian regulators said Amazon must give outside vendors who don’t use Fulfillment by Amazon access to the same sales and visibility opportunities, if they use a logistics operator that meets certain standards. Amazon has a year to come up with standards that outside logistics companies must meet to qualify.