Amazon, Walmart practicing anti-competitive business model in India: AIOVA to PMO

After reaching out to several governmental departments complaining about predatory pricing and deep discounting exercised by e-commerce marketplaces, small online retailers have written to PMO.

The e-commerce majors like Amazon and Walmart are exploiting small sellers, they are controlling India's retail market, said AIOVA in the letter. They further demanded to fine-tune retail trade in the country as marketplaces are practicing unregulated and anti-competitive business model.

It also expressed unhappiness over not being included in framing e-commerce policy by the government.

AIOVA represent over 3500 sellers. And this is not the first time the issue has been raised.

Earlier, the body had reached out to several govt departments raising the issue of deep discounting and unfair practices like giving preferential treatment to certain large sellers, by e-commerce marketplaces.

In March, it alleged that Flipkart's WS Retail and Amazon's Cloudtail are destroying their business by indulging in predatory pricing and discounting when selling their private label products.

E-commerce firms like Amazon, Flipkart and Grofers start being MSME advocates to initial phase but as soon as they start getting the traction they eat market by selling on their own, according to small sellers.

In July this year, grocery firm Grofers said that it will be aiming to be 100 per cent private label company in the next three years.

Organisations including Swadeshi Jagran Manch, CAIT, the economic wing of RSS, and Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), a lobby group of handset makers, had also raised concerns.

However, both Flipkart and Amazon have claimed to taken measures like special programmes for small sellers to help SMEs and boosting local manufacturing. On Dec 16, Amazon plans to offer products from various small sellers at special prices and cashbacks for buyers during its Small Business Day.