Milan, 9thApril 2019 – Amazon today announces that there are more than 12,000 of Italian-based small and medium enterprises selling on Amazon and that number is increased of 2,000 (+20%) in 2018. Those Italian SMEs achieved record export sales of over €500 million in 2018, a growing path of more than 50% year on year. Italian-based SMEs export their products mainly in Europe and some of them around the world.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises are an integral part of Amazon’s DNA and we support them in the digitalization path as well as in reinvesting in their core business and local communities through new jobs creation” said Mariangela Marseglia, Country Manager Amazon.it and Amazon.es. “SMEs complement our retail business and we’ll continue to help them selling on Amazon as they are a boost for the Italian economy”.
In Europe, Amazon supports over 130,000 SMEs through a suite of support tools and services to run their digital business and to sell globally across Amazon's 19 websites, in 12 languages, reaching millions of potential new customers. Independent Italian businesses employ more than 10,000 people in Italy to run their sales activities on Amazon; Amazon’s Marketplace business fuels more than 200,000 jobs in Europe and over 900,000 jobs worldwide for people who’ve started or are growing their own businesses by selling on Amazon.
“We keep providing to SMEs selling on Amazon tools, support and advice to expand their potentials and provide greater selection to customers”, said Ilaria Zanelotti, Head of Marketplace, Amazon.it. “Websites like Amazon make it easier for Italian SMEs to break into overseas countries and to go global reaching new customers outside the homeland”.
To make all of this possible, Amazon has invested more than €27 billion in Europe and €1.6 billion in Italy only since 2010 in jobs, infrastructure, real estate, services and content including building the online services and fulfilment network to support the rapid growth of independent small businesses selling on Amazon. Millions of SMEs worldwide now sell on Amazon in over 180 Countries and help to increase selection and drive competition on prices for customers. Amazon provides global delivery and distribution and manages customer services in the local language as well as translates hundreds of millions of product listings each year, enabling them to sell internationally with little additional effort. As a result, more than 50,000 SMEs selling on Amazon surpassed $500,000 in sales in Amazon’s stores worldwide and nearly 200,000 exceeded $100,000 in 2018. Independent businesses selling on Amazon contribute with 52% of all sales on Amazon's global sites: SMES export products to customers across Europe, North America, Japan and India.
Fabio Ortolani Petrillo has founded Artefizio, an artisanal workshop in the nearby of Bologna that creates small tables, belts, sandals and many other products with the up-recycling technique from tires, wood’s scrapes and other secondhand materials. He has started his activity in the name of “creative recovery” and he has a team of artisans looking for raw materials with the support of charities that collect waste. “Artefizio wants to convey the beauty and multiple potential of wasted materials to a growing number of people. This perspective is directly linked to the revaluation of artisanal and artistic traditions never forgetting the global evolution and online retail that offers us a channel to make our products known in Italy and abroad: thanks to Amazon, we export products to Germany, France and the USA.”
Read more about sellers that are building successful businesses on Amazon here. Businesses interested in selling on Amazon can visit https://services.amazon.it.
Note to Editors: The number of employees of Amazon third-party sellers is estimated based on an internal poll of businesses selling Amazon, conducted by independent consultancy firm Keystone Strategy.
