To counter the powerful Amazon, Intermarché is committed to helping small businesses, not necessarily equipped to use the "click and collect" system. A great initiative during a period of confinement.
Monday, November 9, Intermarché launches its “solidarity drive” in the face of confinement. An announcement that was enthusiastically shared by the local and national press. The brand will thus offer local businesses, first bookstores, to put their products on sale in the digital marketplace of the group's supermarkets. “We hear the anger, the distress of small traders and in particular booksellers, we hear the discourse of pushing for digitization, click & collect, but not all are necessarily ready”, explained to AFP on Thursday (November 5th) the president of Intermarché and Netto, Thierry Cotillard, relayed by Le Figaro.
“The idea is to give merchants a hand by providing them with our digital tools, our click & collect platform, first with booksellers. The click ’is done on our site, but the collect’ is done in their store. (…) Booksellers in Lorient can offer their books in the city's Intermarché ”solidarity drives. (…) It is possible in 1500 drives in France ", he added. The initiative was developed by Mirakl, a French pioneer of online marketplaces, which at the end of September carried out the largest fundraising ever by a French start-up.
David facing Goliath
Intermarché has not hidden, far from it, its desire to undermine the American giant Amazon. On the advertising inserts in the press, we can read: "Sorry Jeff, we are already working to make this service available to other local businesses in difficulty." Since the start of the lockdown, many elected officials and merchants have felt that the closure of certain physical businesses was wonderful news for the e-commerce economy in general, and Amazon in particular. In his interview, Thierry Cotillard recalls, in a second step, the "demand for real tax fairness ". Amazon, which announces 420 million euros of total tax contribution in France (including VAT), is very often accused of having an advantage in terms of taxation compared to distributors. "The form of distribution, today's purchases save the economy and the jobs of tomorrow", said Thierry Cotillard.
Intermarché is not alone in this local 2.0 movement. Carrefour had also announced a partnership with Mirakl, for the establishment of"an accelerated digitalization solution". Some businesses will be offered a "subscription to its marketplace until the end of 2020".