From Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2269842/Amazon-lays-waste-high-street-record-14bn-Christmas-sales.html
Amazon set to announce record Christmas sales as high street struggles
- Internet store made £14 billion in worldwide sales in just three months
- Amazon has come under attack though for avoiding millions of pounds in tax
Amazon is set to announce record Christmas trading as it continues to ‘lay waste’ to the beleaguered high street.
In just three months the internet store made £14 billion in worldwide sales – with one tenth of that from UK shoppers.
But Amazon has been under attack for avoiding millions of pounds in taxes. Critics say this enables the company to slash prices and undercut rivals.
An estimated 17,500 high street jobs are at risk after 1,400 stores closed down over the Christmas period. And industry experts warn more retail failures could see one in five shops boarded up.
Household names including HMV, Jessops, Blockbuster and Comet have all collapsed into administration during the past two months.
Yet Amazon’s expected sales rise is an increase of almost a third compared with 2011.
Waterstone’s founder Tim Waterstone previously said Amazon had a ‘rude, contemptuous, arrogant and subversive’ attitude to competitors.
And John Lewis boss Andy Street has called for a ‘level playing field’ to stop it ‘out-trading’ rivals.
Amazon was also dubbed ‘immoral’ for avoiding tax by funnelling revenue to Luxembourg.
In 2011, the most recent year where figures are available, Amazon paid just £1.8 million despite raking in sales of £3.35 billion in the UK – a figure the firm tried to keep secret until it was exposed by MPs.
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