Sometimes words are difficult to find, so here are some figures to discuss
$34.2 bn – Amazon’s sales in FY 2010
$1.497 bn – Amazon’s pre-tax income/profit in FY 2010
£8.8 mn – Scottish Government/Enterprise grants to Amazon to move and expand their distribution centre from Glenrothes to Dunfermline ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12182253) 13th January 2011
£1.8 mn – Scottish Enterprise grant to Amazon for customer service centre in Edinburgh (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-13539941) 25th May 2011
12% – Shop Vacancy Rate in Town Centres in Scotland according to the Local Data Company (Glasgow 17.8%, Paisley 23.5%) see http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business/Does-Scottish-retail-need-.6772189.jp?articlepage=2
?? – how many book and entertainment retailers left on Scottish high streets.
Don’t get me wrong; I like, admire and use Amazon as much as the rest of us, but online retailers based in out of town locations compete with high streets and town centre retailers every bit as much as do the out-of-town superstores and big box retailers, the out-of-town cinemas and out-of-town offices.
An Amazon Tax anyone?
Stirlingretail 
I am curious.
I assume the grant was to attract distribution services to Scotland and presumably the alternatives were elsewhere in the UK.
Is this an example of competitive forces between UK regions leading to a sub-optimal UK wide result?
I doubt that Amazon really needed any encouragement to set up somewhere in the UK, so did they find a way to subsidise their operations by exploiting UK regional competitiveness?
Good post Leigh.
Adam
For those wanting to follow this line of thought up, the interview on STV with the First Minister is a good starting point:
http://video.stv.tv/bc/news-110525-alexiv/
In it Alex Salmond makes the point that Scotland the quality of the labour in Scotland was the key issue followed by the speed of response of the inward investment and Scottish Enterprise teams. He claims other regions of the UK were prepared to provide more grants.
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