France's Competition regulator, l'Autorité de la Concurrence, is examining a submission from Amazon requesting approval to take control of French parcel delivery firm, Colis Privé, the main B2C competitor to state postal utility, La Poste.
"Amazon, a group essentially active in e-commerce, intends to acquire the totality of the capital of Colis Privé, a French private postal operator specialised in largely non-express (48-72 hours) B2C parcel delivery. Amazon already holds 25% of the capital of Colis Privé and following this operation will take exclusive control of the company," the regulator said in a statement on its website.
The online retailer filed the submission at the end of last month and the maximum statutory period for the completion of a phase 1 examination is 25 working days which could mean a decision by the regulator is imminent.
However, the regulator could decide that an in-depth or phase 2 examination is required for which the maximum statutory period for completion is 75 days.
A spokesman for the regulator declined to comment on the operation what was the sbject of "an on-going examination."
Contacted by CEP-Research today, Amazon said it "had concluded an agreement with a view to the acquisition of Colis Privé" and that "the completion of the operation is subject to the normal validation process."
It added: “The combination of the expertise of our two companies will permit us to improve even more the experience of all our customers, consumers and distributors.
"Colis Privé is a solid firm which is growing, with whom we are happy to work and can't wait to do so. Colis Privé will continue to work with all its customers and develop its activities."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Colis Privé said the company would not be commenting before the regulator had published its decision.
Last October, several French media reports claimed Amazon was planning to take control of Colis Privé.
Effectively, the takeover would give Amazon a platform to switch more volumes away from La Poste, reducing its dependence on the postal operator, and enable it to build up a competitive rival and to gain more influence and control over final-mile deliveries in France. It could also enable the e-commerce firm to secure lower prices from La Poste.
Amazon, the recognised e-commerce market leader in France, has an estimated 50 million parcels a year.
According to CEP-Research information, Amazon uses various companies to deliver orders in France, including La Poste’s Chronopost and Coliposte Colissimo, Colis Privé, FedEx, DHL, TNT Express and UPS, as well as the Relais Colis parcel point network.
Colis Privé delivered 35 million parcels last year for diverse retailers, including Amazon. It employs 400 staff at two hubs (Paris and Lyon) and 19 regional depots and delivers through 1,700 sub-contracted workers and some 9,000 ‘parcel shop’ partners.
The French company describes itself as the main home delivery competitor to La Poste. In contrast to the UK and Germany, where there is intensive competition between various parcel carriers, La Poste dominates the French market through its Coliposte, Chronopost and DPD France businesses.
Colis Privé was originally founded by the Yves Rocher cosmetics group in 1993 under the name Distrihome to deliver the group’s products in response to extended strikes at La Poste, and was sold to Adrexo, an unaddressed mail delivery firm in 2006. In 2012, it was taken over by the company management and re-branded as Colis Privé.
