U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Amazon had “destroyed the retail industry” in an interview Wednesday. He backed the Justice Department’s probe of big tech, including Apple.
Amazon has ‘Really Hurt Small Businesses’ Says Treasury Secretary
Speaking on CNBC Mr. Mnuchin said:
I think if you look at Amazon, although there are certain benefits to it, they’ve destroyed the retail industry across the United States so there’s no question they’ve limited competition.
Mr. Mnuchin, who has a background in retail, said: “There’s areas where [Amazon] really hurt small businesses.”
The Treasury Secretary warned it is hard to lump all the big tech firms together. However, he stated his support for the Justice Department’s investigation into big tech launched Tuesday. “I think it’s very good that the attorney general is going to look into this, ” he said. “I think it’s an important issue and I look forward to him reporting back to the president and hearing his recommendations.”
Small retailers stopped advertising in their local newspapers years ago and watched those businesses die. The internet was growing and the same retailers didn’t support local, they posted job openings on Craigslist, killing classifed revenues. The internet grew along with ecommerce and they didn’t participate in the paradigm shift. They may have gouged their customers by overpricing and the interrnet revealed lower prices than what they were getting locally. Think of how many small hardware businesses were escorted to oblivion by Lowes and Home Depot – still bricks and mortar. Now Amazon offers items you can’t find in Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart – too bad for them. Most of the chain bricks and mortar stores have do nothing employees that avoid customers and sit around talking amongst themselves either in the store or outside smoking cigarettes. Amazon is part of an evolution, not the best of the species but the dominant one at this time. They don’t have the best/lowest prices all the time but they offer availability.
I can’t disagree with this. Amazon has been very corrosive.
Was it Amazon or its customers?