Amazon could face probe over treatment of UK grocery suppliers, watchdog says
Amazon fares poorly on supplier survey, says industry regulator
Amazon told to take 'swift action' to comply with industry code
Regulator says won't hesitate to launch formal investigation
Amazon says disappointed, pledges improvement
By James Davey
LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) -Britain's grocery regulator on Thursday threatened Amazon AMZN.O with a formal investigation if it does not improve its compliance with an industry code designed to protect suppliers.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) said its 2024 annual survey found that less than half of respondents directly supplying Amazon believed the U.S. giant "consistently" or "mostly" complied with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).
The Code aims to ensure Britain's 14 largest grocery retailers, including market leader Tesco TSCO.L, Sainsbury's SBRY.L and Marks & Spencer MKS.L, treat suppliers fairly. Amazon has been subject to it since 2022.
It restricts firms from making changes to supply contracts at short notice and also requires retailers to give an appropriate period of notice if they no longer want to use a supplier and provide reasons for ending the contract.
Amazon’s perceived Code compliance score fell to 47% from 59% in 2023, with Amazon retaining its position in last place some 41 percentage points behind Iceland on 88% in 13th place.
"We are very disappointed by these results and we are committed to improving them," an Amazon spokesperson said.
The GCA said it had told Amazon to take "swift and comprehensive action" to demonstrably comply with the Code.
The regulator is monitoring changes that Amazon is making and their impact to determine whether they are sufficient.
"I will not hesitate to launch a formal investigation if appropriate and necessary to ensure Amazon is treating its suppliers fairly and lawfully," said Mark White, the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
Ultimately, the GCA can impose financial penalties of up to 1% of a large retailer's UK turnover.
The Amazon spokesperson said it had made several improvements for grocery suppliers since last year’s results, with clearer explanations for cost price increase decisions, minimum periods for de-listing, and the launch of a major upgrade for handling invoice disputes.
“We will be making further changes, with faster time-frames to resolve more types of financial disputes, as well as strengthened account management support for smaller suppliers," the person said.
The GCA said overall Code compliance scores across the retailers, excluding Amazon, averaged 94%, unchanged from 2023.
Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter
Aset Berkaitan
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
