The French market resists Amazon. The e-commerce giant is not as popular in the country as it is in other European markets, such as Germany or the United Kingdom. To reverse this situation, the multinational has decided to launch the Ratatouille project, a plan to relaunch its image and win over French buyers for good.
The plan brings together a dozen sub-projects, an inside source told Bloomberg: local television ads, promotion of French-made products sold on Amazon and studies purported to show the positive economic impact of the company’s warehouses.
Amazon’s Ratatouille project has set out to Frenchify (somehow) the American giant. Following the actions set out in the plan, last March, the company attended the popular agricultural fair in Paris for the first time, with a booth showing local food producers.
Along these lines, in 2021, the company opened an online store that exhibits products made in France, a section that generates few sales, according to knowledgeable sources. However, it has decided to keep it because it represents an important point of promotion in the French market.
Amazon is determined to show that it has a niche in France. According to this outlet, a study by Roland Berger published in March and paid for by Amazon found that 84% of local store owners in a northeastern region of the country believed that opening a store nearby had a neutral impact on your business. Another survey commissioned by Ifop showed that eight out of ten employees of the multinational would recommend working at the company.
“For more than two decades, we have worked to earn the trust of our customers in France by giving back to their communities, providing good service and offering a wide selection at low prices, even as the cost of living has risen,†a spokesperson told Bloomberg.
Amazon has baptized this plan as the Ratatouille project, inspired by the popular Disney film, which presents a friendly French rat who aspires to succeed in Paris, a dream he achieves by cooking the traditional vegetable dish that gives the animated film its name.
The Ratatouille plan was inspired by McDonald’s promotional efforts in the 1990s. At that time, the fast food company improved its image by reaching agreements with local farmers and adapting the menus to French tastes, with salads, pastries and a McBaguette.
