Amazon, a teflon company | The Press

We all appreciate the virtues of T-fal non-stick pans. The Teflon child, on the other hand, seems less pleasant to me.

A book entirely dedicated to his personality describes him as follows: “He is the one on whom nothing sticks: neither punishments, nor guilt, nor compliments, nor promises. This is the child who sometimes appears heartless, lonely, hyperactive, aggressive and highly selfish. »

Amazon reminds me of this kid.

Nothing really reaches him. Not even the worst revelations about his business practices. Every day, those who enrich the richest man in the world continue to be more numerous.

This week, we learned that Quebecers make almost half (48%) of their online purchases on a single site, that of Amazon. Of online purchases totaling $16 billion, $7.7 billion went into the pockets of the Seattle giant last year.

For comparison, the $500 given by the Legault government to almost all Quebecers will total $3.2 billion. It gives an idea of ​​the extent of our purchases on Amazon.

Amazon’s power of attraction is fascinating. One in three Quebec adults subscribes to Amazon Prime, also specified the NETendance report from the Academy of Digital Transformation. This simple and effective formula (unlimited deliveries for $91 per year) is increasingly attractive: a year ago, one out of four Quebec adults benefited from it.

Inevitably, when you pay for this service, you want to take advantage of it, get your money’s worth. Even for a baby that is sold three blocks away, we develop the reflex of looking on Amazon. It is not for nothing that 47% of Quebec online buyers say they have increased their spending on this platform in 2021.

You will have guessed that Quebec merchants did not benefit from such an increase. Despite the Blue Basket, despite the popularity of buying local, despite our retailers’ efforts to provide a better online experience. That’s a shame.

The scandals don’t seem to be hurting the fabulous profits of the Amazon steamroller either. The Teflon effect, I was telling you.

However, it is not the devastating revelations that are lacking.

On Friday, a committee of the United States House of Representatives announced an investigation^⁠1 about how Amazon treats its workers. In December, six died at a distribution center hit by a tornado after they were reportedly threatened with firing if they left the premises.

US lawmakers have weighed in on these controversial practices before. Amazon had dared to lie to them by denying that employees had to urinate in empty water bottles in order not to abandon their jobs. The company finally apologized^⁠2. Not very uplifting.

Amazon’s Union Busting^⁠3 also made headlines on Friday when workers at a New York warehouse voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union. A first in the history of the retailer.

The show team Marketplaceat the CBC, for his part revealed the immense environmental cost of shopping on Amazon^⁠4. It showed that goods returned in perfect condition can end up in the dump, be shredded or resold 5,000 km away.

It’s not funnier on the supplier side. At Radio Canada, Investigation^⁠5 reported the story of an SME in the Eastern Townships that came close to bankruptcy when Amazon played behind its back. And another whose product was copied by the online retailer. Is it really necessary when you already dominate?

This report also reminded us that the juggernaut pays almost no tax. As Peter Simons, of the company of the same name, has long pointed out, this inequity towards well-established businesses impoverishes all of society.

And what about the terrible fate of American entrepreneurs who deliver Amazon packages. They are paid 10 cents each! They are promised profits of $75,000 to $300,000 a year, but some end up pretty broke. Without warning and without reason, Amazon breaks contracts while a pile of bills must be paid: repair and maintenance of the vans that Amazon rents to them, office, parking, insurance, revealed Vice^⁠6.

But all this does not prevent the giant’s sales from climbing constantly.

And no one sees the day when its rise could stop, as the competition is so far behind. As he demonstrated by going to space for fun, Jeff Bezos is far from afraid of heights. And Amazon has enough imagination to invent new heights.