Yahoo Finance Amazon’s Project ‘Ratatouille’ Aims to Boost French Image
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. has cooked up a public-relations project called “Ratatouille” to boost its image in France, where the company isn’t as popular as in other European markets.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Airline Blunder Sells $10,000 Asia-US Business Class Tickets for $300
Elon Musk’s Wealth Plunges $13 Billion as Drama Unfolds Across Empire
US, Ukraine Allies Consider Near-Total Ban on Exports to Russia
Meet the Guy Who Scored $250,000 of Tickets for $17,000 After Airline Error
The plan agglomerates a dozen sub-projects, including local television ads, the promotion of French-made products sold on Amazon and studies that purportedly show the positive economic impact of the company’s warehouses, according to people with knowledge of the effort. The Ratatouille project was inspired by the popular Disney film, which features a friendly French rat who cooks the well-known stewed vegetable dish from Provence.
Started about three years ago, the project is aimed at “Frenchifying” Amazon, said one of the people, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. In March, Amazon for the first time attended the popular Paris farming fair, with a booth showcasing local food producers. The e-commerce giant also in 2021 opened an online shop showcasing products made in France, a section that generates few sales, according to one of the people, but is widely promoted.
In a Roland Berger study released in March and paid for by Amazon, 84% of local shop owners in a region of northeastern France said Amazon opening a warehouse near them had a neutral impact on their business. Another commissioned poll from Ifop showed that eight Amazon employees out of 10 would recommend working at the company.
In 2021, Amazon Prime Video secured the broadcast rights to most of France’s football competition, a move that was not prompted by the Ratatouille plan but helped Amazon’s image, the people said.
“For more than two decades, we’ve worked to earn the trust of our customers in France by contributing to their communities, providing good service, and offering a broad selection at low prices, even as the cost of living has escalated,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “Like many companies, we’ve always worked to share information about how we support the communities where we operate.”
The Ratatouille plan was inspired by McDonald’s Corp.’s France playbook, one of the people said. In the late 1990’s, left-wing activists dubbed the fast-food giant a symbol of globalization, but McDonald’s improved its image by striking deals with local farmers and adapting menus to French tastes, with salads, pastries and a McBaguette sandwich.
Ongoing Tensions
Since launching in France in 2000, Amazon has proven a success in the country, where it has 20,000 employees and is the e-commerce market leader. Amazon said it has invested more than €16 billion in France since 2010, “helping to support local innovation and infrastructure.” But it remains less popular among consumers than in Germany or the UK.
The Seattle-based company grappled with repeated controversies and tensions in France, ranging from tax optimization issues to the ecological impact of e-commerce and warehouse working conditions. In 2020, Amazon suspended its French operations for five weeks after a local court ruled it had failed to protect workers effectively from Covid-19. Some of the company’s plans to build new warehouses in the country have also been blocked by campaigners on ecological, economic and political grounds.
This month, the French government decided on a €3 tax for book deliveries, aimed at supporting physical bookstores. The measure will commence in October and apply to all online booksellers, including Amazon.
In February, Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos discreetly received France’s highest honor at a private ceremony hosted by President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, on the same day protesters around the country decried the French government’s pension reform plan
(Updates with additional details on Amazon’s investments in France in eighth paragraph. A previous version corrected the number of Amazon employees in France.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
The Repo Man Returns as More Americans Fall Behind on Car Payments
With 4% Savings Accounts, Is It Finally Time to Break Up With Your Bank?
Republicans Fight a Solar Boom That’s Made Texas King of Clean Energy
Americans Go Deeper Into Debt as They Use Buy Now, Pay Later Apps for Groceries
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
