FRANKFURT--The association of German publishers said Tuesday it
filed a complaint against Amazon.com Inc., accusing the online
retailer of trying to strong-arm a publisher into more favorable
pricing.
The association alleges that Amazon is delaying delivery of
books from Swedish media company Bonnier AB, with the goal of
getting better pricing terms on e-books. The association asked
Germany's antitrust watchdog to investigate Amazon's actions,
calling them an abuse of its market position.
Bonnier confirmed the dispute, but declined to give details.
Amazon couldn't comment immediately.
It isn't the first time the e-commerce giant has been accused of
using its position to wrangle better terms from media companies. In
the U.S., Amazon is entangled in a dispute on e-book pricing with
the Hachette Book Group. It is also negotiating with Warner Bros.
studio in an attempt to get better terms on DVDs and Blu-ray
releases, according to a people familiar with the matter.
Germany is Amazon's largest market after the U.S. and its market
position makes local publishers dependent on the company, according
to the Boersenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. The industry
association, which represents some 1,850 publishers and thousands
of book stores and sellers, likened Amazon's business approach to
"blackmail" tactics.
"Amazon's business conduct has consequences not only for the
affected publishers, but poses a danger to all e-book providers and
distributors in Germany," the group said.
A spokesman for the industry group, Thomas Koch, said Bonnier's
situation was only the trigger for the complaint with antitrust
authorities, and a sign of what could be a larger problem. Other
publishers may be affected, or in negotiations, and thus reluctant
to make noise, he said.
"It's brave of Bonnier to speak up," said Mr. Koch, but "our
complaint goes beyond them."
Bonnier operates 16 publishers in Germany according to its
website, including arsEdition, Libresco and Carlsen Verlag.
Germany's cartel office said it received the complaint and would
decide after an initial review whether to launch a more formal
investigation.
Amazon tangled with Germany's cartel office in 2013, when the
antitrust authority ordered the company to abandon a price parity
policy that limited competition by third-party sellers.
Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com
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