A few minutes before I sat down to write this month’s letter, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leveled an explosive claim on CNBC when he stated Amazon “destroyed the retail industry across the United States.”

The comments came a day after the Justice Department’s antitrust division disclosed its plans to probe several technology platforms. While it didn’t reveal which firms it planned to examine, it’s widely believed that Amazon is in the Justice Department’s crosshairs thanks to claims that the merchant is stifling competition and reducing choices for consumers.

As a former board member of Sears Holdings Corp., Mnuchin knows all too well how powerful a force Amazon is within the retail industry. Amazon dominates U.S. ecommerce, and it has extended its reach offline with its acquisition of Whole Foods, as well as Amazon Go, Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star, Amazon Hub Locker+ and Amazon Lockers (not to mention its arrangement with Kohl’s that enables shoppers to return Amazon orders
at Kohl’s stores).

Amazon’s true power lies…

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