Amazon iApple They were sentenced to one payment A total fine of 200 million In Italy, 68.7 million on Amazon and 134.5 million on Apple, due to violating the rules Competition.
UpdateHere is Amazon’s official position on this matter:
“We strongly disagree with the AGCM’s decision and intend to appeal. The punishment imposed is disproportionate and unjustified.
We reject the AGCM’s consideration that Amazon benefits from excluding in-store sales partners, as our business model depends on their success. Thanks to the agreement with Apple, Italian customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products in our store, and take advantage of a catalog that has more than doubled, with better offers and faster shipping.”
The company also explains that thanks to the agreement with Apple, the catalog of Apple products on Amazon.it has doubled, especially with regard to the most popular products such as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with the percentage of products delivered via express. – The track (i.e. with a promise of delivery usually within two days) increased from 25% in 2018 to 74% in 2020.
Amazon says it is pleased with Apple’s recent decision to increase the number of Apple Authorized Resellers that can sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon across Europe, as this results in a greater selection of products available to customers.
Additionally, Amazon claims that it accounts for less than 1% of the global retail market and that there are larger retailers in all the countries in which it operates. This also applies to Italy, where there are large markets and retail chains of consumer electronics products, active both online and offline.
According to estimates provided by the company, sales partners account for approximately 60% of all sales of physical products in a store, and on average it is more profitable to sell by a third-party seller to Amazon than to retail registered by Amazon itself.
original news
Punishment due to a an agreement Between Amazon and Apple, which would have restricted competition: according to the reported documents, an agreement was signed between the two companies that “did not allow all legitimate distributors of original Apple and Beats products to operate on the marketplace amazon.it”, according to the Italian competition authority.
This is the conclusion of an investigation launched last year by the Arabian Gulf Mechanical Center, confirming the suspicions that arose in the beginning.
In practice, under this agreement, electronic retailers that do not adhere to the official Apple program are physically prohibited from selling. Apple and Beats brand products Amazon Ultras.
This is confirmed by some clauses derived from the cooperation agreement between Apple and Amazon dating back to 2018. Among them, we find that some clarifications “Banned retailers Official and unofficial Apple and Beats products use Amazon.it, allowing Apple and Beats products to be sold in this market only to Amazon and to certain individually selected individuals and in a discriminatory manner,” according to an AGMC report.
an agreement discriminatory That limited free competition, in particular the violation of art. 101 of the Treaty on the Action of the European Union. The Italian authority also demands that this behavior stop, in addition to paying the fine imposed on Apple and Amazon.
Recently, Apple also opposed Europe’s call for a single charger because it “kills innovation and confuses users”. If nothing else, it has announced a self-service repair program, starting with the iPhone 13 and 12.