Kansas City Mayor woos Amazon with buying binge

Kansas City has become the latest US city to show initiative/embarrass itself (delete where applicable) over Amazon’s plans for a second HQ.

The e-tailer is looking to open somewhere in North America an equivalent to its massive presence in Seattle. It says it will invest around $5 billion in the construction and operation of the new HQ, and plans to grow it to provide 50,000 jobs. Amazon is thought to prefer a city with more than one million people, a stable and business-friendly environment and locations that can attract and retain technical talent.

The company is asking cities to impress it (deadline of 19th October) with such incentives as tax credits, relocation grants and fee reductions. And Kansas City’s Mayor is on the case, buying 1,000 Amazon products and reviewing them on its website (cringe…well, at least all the products are going to charity). Mayor Sly James has been busy promoting his publicity stunt on the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

He gave all products five star reviews. So, if you’ve ever wondered where he stands on Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal, here you go: “It tastes great in milk, or your favourite milk alternative, or enjoy it with no milk at all”. Erm, thanks for that.

If you find such a carry on a tad desperate, bear in mind that the city council of Stonecrest, Georgia voted to change its name to Amazon, Georgia if the e-commerce giant chooses it as the HQ destination.