Good news for bookstores, less for web giants. The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak as well as Bruno Le Maire, his counterpart of the Economy and Finances, signed this Friday the decree which fixes at 3 euros minimum the amount of the shipping costs for the orders of books in below 35 euros. The measure, which will take effect on October 7, is intended to protect bookstores once morest the behemoths of the Web, the company created by Jeff Bezos in the lead, by encouraging consumers to go to the store rather than order online. Beyond 35 euros, the threshold will remain at 0.01 euro, the one in force since the very controversial anti-Amazon law of 2014.
A study conducted by xerfipoints out that “two categories of operators [pure players de la vente en ligne et grandes surfaces culturelles, ndlr] have recorded an increase in their book sales in recent years, while the overall market has at the same time declined, inevitably resulting in market share losses for the profession”. To prevent this paradox from deepening further, the government has therefore decided to place all book sellers under the same measuring rod.
With a shipping cost between “7 and 9 euros” per pound, industry professionals have been complaining regarding unfair competition for several years. The health crisis, which has prompted many independent bookstores to strengthen their online sales offer, has heightened criticism of the 2014 law. If it was already aimed at protecting independent booksellers by prohibiting free deliveries, the giant American had easily circumvented it by offering the service for a symbolic penny.
“A first step”
The Syndicate of the French bookstore (SLF), whose members weigh nearly a third of the national turnover of independent bookstores, wanted to raise the minimum amount to 4.50 euros. Amazon defended delivery costs of 1.49 euros, the cost of sending a book weighing less than 500 grams in the European Union, denouncing the inflationary nature of this reform. The government therefore chose a middle way, following the recommendations of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (Arcep), which suggested this minimum price of 3 euros. In February, he obtained the approval of the European Commission for this unique device in the world.
On the book market, France has distinguished itself by having been the first country in the world, in 1981, to pass a law imposing a single price on new books. “This new measure follows the logic of the single price which has made it possible to prevent a player from being in a monopoly situation, with the disastrous consequences that this entails, reacts Guillaume Husson, general delegate of the Syndicate of the French bookstore (SLF). This is undeniable progress, but we consider it to be only a first step. Amazon’s strategy, which is to cut shipping costs to be the only one on the market, will only be partially stopped. Indeed, above 35 euros of book orders Amazon will be able to continue to apply its ridiculous price. The General Delegate believes that to ensure the sustainability of one of the densest networks of independent bookstores in the world (3,500 bookstores), it is necessary to “mix this minimum threshold and a preferential postal rate”. “We must take the next step which would have the advantage of not weighing on consumers”he points out.
