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In any case, the Bundeskartellamt's initial findings and issues are most likely to likewise contribute in the EC's examination. Amazon's conduct as described in the EC's RFI raises a number of competition concerns. If the EC discovers its suspicions validated, this could amount to an infraction of Articles 101 and/or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU").
Short article 102 TFEU forbids the abuse of a dominant market position. In case of an infringement, the EC could enforce a fine of up to 10% of Amazon's total turnover in the preceding company year. Unlike other RFIs, the EC has actually exposed whether it is pursuing the case under Short article 101 and/or 102 TFEU, and what the appropriate theory of damage would be.
The dual position allows Amazon to adjust its own offerings on the retail level to the success or failure of other business selling identical or comparable items by means of the Amazon Marketplace. The risk of a commercial failure concerning the recoupment of a financial investment is close to absolutely no as soon as Amazon has gained from its Marketplace data that a specific product sells well.
It is likewise possible that the EC evaluates Amazon's collection and use of the market data gathered through its Market as an "exchange of details" among completing merchants, triggering issues under Short article 101 TFEU. For that, Amazon's practice would have to amount to an "arrangement in between undertakings" or a "concerted practice" with the things or impact of restricting competition between Amazon and the merchants in retail sales.
Relevant to competitors are company data a competitor can take into consideration for its own tactical market habits, in particular sales figures, market shares, prices/discounts/bonuses, client names and costs. With regards to Amazon, two different competitive relationships should be distinguished. In its capacity as a merchant platform, Amazon engages in a vertical relationship with merchants.
Any product-specific information allows Amazon to constantly boost its search and ranking algorithms. CRUXFINDER to improve and innovate the service might thus validate the gathering of such merchants' information that is required for the matching of merchants with shoppers. Both sides of the market make money from more appropriate product search outcomes.