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June 5, 2013

Struggling British booksellers seek government support against Amazon

British booksellers consider the online retailer as main threat to their businesses.

By CBR Staff Writer

Booksellers Association of UK has sought government support against online retailer Amazon following France’s promise to offer €9m funding to assist its struggling industry defend against the online retailer.

The Booksellers Association, which represents more than 1,000 outlets in the UK, said that it needs government help to compete against Amazon’s relentless expansion, which is putting shop owners out of business.

The Booksellers Association chief executive, Tim Godfray, said that Britain’s bookshops, closing down at a rate of more than one a week, consider Amazon the main threat to their business.

"Everyone has had enough of Amazon, which by dumping practises, slashes prices to get a foothold in markets only to raise them as soon as they have established a virtual monopoly," Godfray said.

"The book and reading sector is facing competition from certain sites using very possible means to enter the French and European book market… it is destroying bookshops."

In addition, the French government is considering to ban Amazon from offering free postage on books in the country as part of its efforts to restore an even playing field for its homegrown retailers.

The online retailer has recently been under scanner in the UK in the midst of allegations of tax avoidance.

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