In an official press release announcing the penalty, he noted that Amazon is in a position of “absolute dominance” in the Italian brokerage services market. The AGCM, which issued the fine, said that Amazon imposed a hefty fine because it considered its actions “particularly serious” given the duration of their actions and the impact they had caused. In addition to the fine, it requested Amazon to grant the privileges enjoyed by FBA sellers to all third-party sellers, provided they comply with other rules and laws. It will need to define and publish these standards within a year.
An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that the company “strongly disagrees” with the decision and will appeal. He also noted that non-FBA sellers can use the Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) service, which allows them to access Prime benefits without having to use Amazon’s logistics services. The company said, “We strongly disagree with the decision of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) and will appeal.
The proposed fines and remedies are unfair and disproportionate. More than half of Amazon annual sales in Italy come from SMEs and their success is at the heart of our business model. Small and medium-sized businesses have multiple channels to sell their products both online and offline: Amazon is just one of those options.”