Books

British Booksellers Asks Government Funding to Curb Amazon.com

British Booksellers Asks Government Funding to Curb Amazon.com
Bernadine Racoma

France has recently pledged nine million Euros to fund its French booksellers. A portion of the funding will be used to usher traditional bookshops online and modernize them. Now, British bookshop owners are asking the UK government for funding as well in order to help booksellers in Britain stand up against Amazon.com.

Threat to bookshops

British booksellers have referred to Amazon.com as “the destroyer of bookshops” and “the main threat to their business.” Tim Godfray, the Booksellers Association Chief Executive, said that more and more bookshops will be closing in Britain as Amazon pushes for expansion, and then agents and publishers will follow suit. The Booksellers Association in Britain has a membership of around 1,000 shop owners.

Currently, bookshops are being driven out of business at the rate of more than one a week. Last year, more than 73 independent booksellers in the United Kingdom closed down. Now the total number of bookshops in Britain is 1,028. In 2005, it was 1,535.

Protect independent bookshops

The owner of Broadway Bookshop in east London, Jane Howe said that independent bookshops are “at the heart of the community.” She stressed the urgent need for the British government to support small businesses such as independent bookshops. Howe added that it would be great if Britain would notice what France is trying to do.

Editor Philip Jones calls on the UK government to “wake up” and seriously consider following in the footsteps of the French. He added that the government needs to see the impact of the damage that Amazon.com has been causing retailers and the book trade in general. The government needs to be proactive in protecting “the whole high street,” he insisted. According to Jones, it would be “lovely” if the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Maria Miller would speak openly about how important books are in their culture. He lamented that the British do not think of books as high culture as they do in Germany and France.

Virtual monopoly

Culture Minister of France Aurélie Filippetti has accused Amazon.com of instituting a “virtual monopoly” by undercutting its traditional rivals. In a speech delivered to booksellers in Bordeaux, the Minister says that Amazon has been dumping practices. It cuts down prizes in order to get a foothold on the market and then raise the prizes again soon after creating a monopoly. “Everyone has had enough of Amazon,” she said. “It is destroying the bookshops,” she added.

Minister Filippetti is a published novelist. Even before she has been heard to complain about Amazon and other companies for “disloyal competition” as they are not subject to the same tax laws as booksellers that have physical stores in France. She recently said that she is also considering banning Amazon’s free postage offers and end the 5% system discount on books.

Fixed book prices in France

In 1981, a law was passed in France that fixed book priced regardless of where they are sold. Today, customers can buy from a high street shop, a small bookseller, or an online retailer and the price for the books would be the same. The law also allows for a 5% maximum discount on books which Amazon takes advantage of so that it acts within the provisions of French law. But with Amazon’s offers of fast delivery and free postage on top of the 5% discount, local booksellers are having a difficult time competing.

Photo Credit: Bookstore in UK

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