Second-hand shopping a $1-bln-plus business for Amazon in Europe
LONDON听–听Consumer demand for refurbished and pre-owned goods in Britain and across听贰耻谤辞辫别听has created a billion pound ($1.3 billion)听产耻蝉颈苍别蝉蝉听for Amazon, its UK boss said.
Many retailers and manufacturers expect that trend to聽聽as shoppers, hit by rising prices and borrowing costs, look to save cash and buy more sustainably.
John Boumphrey,听础尘补锄辞苍‘s UK Country Manager, told reporters that in the UK alone the online retail giant last year sold more than 4 million used or refurbished products at a discount.
In the first nine months of 2023,听础尘补锄辞苍‘s sales of听蝉别肠辞苍诲–丑补苍诲听goods in the UK increased by more than 15% on the same period last year, he added.
础尘补锄辞苍听UK’s total revenue in 2022 was 24 billion pounds.
“Customers are telling us that they鈥檙e听蝉丑辞辫辫颈苍驳听蝉别肠辞苍诲聽丑补苍诲听items to save money in the ongoing cost of living crisis and because they want to shop more sustainably,” Mr. Boumphrey told reporters.
He was speaking at the launch of听础尘补锄辞苍聽UK’s “厂别肠辞苍诲听Chance Store” – a Christmas pop-up shop in London selling returned and refurbished items.
础尘补锄辞苍听has a goal to have net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Many environmental campaigners are skeptical about the willingness of major companies to cut emissions, seeing it as more of a public relations exercise. But large companies say they can make a difference due to their scale.
REGULATORY CHANGE
Mr. Boumphrey also told Reuters that听础尘补锄辞苍聽bosses were frustrated by the amount of regulatory change in听贰耻谤辞辫别, and Britain in particular, and were questioning whether they have enough visibility to invest.
“There鈥檚 an awful lot of changes to regulation, not only in the UK but also in听贰耻谤辞辫别, and one of the things they鈥檙e asking is: is this going to give us long term certainty,” he said in an interview.
He highlighted concerns over聽, currently making its way through the UK parliament, which will give Britain’s antitrust regulator legal powers to tailor rules for big tech companies.
Mr. Boumphrey’s comments come after the UK government this week聽聽29.5 billion pounds of foreign investment as a sign Britain was regaining its听产耻蝉颈苍别蝉蝉听appeal following the uncertainty triggered by its departure from the听贰耻谤辞辫别an Union and last year’s political turmoil.
础尘补锄辞苍听has invested 56 billion pounds in Britain since 2010, including 12 billion in 2022 alone, Mr. Boumphrey said. – Reuters
