Crunch time for Amazon and Flipkart in India

Written By Simon Mundy

Clamp down on aggressive discounting and bulk-buying to test groups’ strategies

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As Indian ecommerce gained momentum in recent years, some local observers wryly cheered the generosity of overseas investors subsidising the shopping of cash-strapped Indian households.

They were referring to a crucial factor behind the sector’s take-off: sweeping price discounts fuelled by huge streams of overseas funding. Analysts said the discounting was pursued at a scale rarely seen in other markets — reflecting the difficulty of attracting millions of often sceptical first-time Indian customers, as well as the scale of the perceived opportunity.

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But this strategy is under threat as India’s government clamps down on aggressive discounting by groups such as Amazon and local rival Flipkart, which are accused by local lobby groups of hurting small businesses and squeezing out competitors. The crackdown will test the strength of the Indian ecommerce sector as well as its attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment.

New Delhi is this month expected to publish its first comprehensive ecommerce policy. In a preliminary draft in July, seen by the Financial Times, the government proposed restrictions on discounts and bulk-buying by companies associated with foreign-backed online marketplaces.

This has caused unease among foreign investors, who complain of an excessive focus on the demands of small businesses, a powerful political constituency. “It’s an over-reach by the government,” said one person with direct knowledge of US tech groups concerns. “There is a clear bias against foreign companies.”

When India began opening its economy to overseas investment in the 1990s, it banned foreign-owned companies from running shops selling multiple brands, to protect small local retailers from an influx of supermarkets. In 2016, with ecommerce taking off, New Delhi said foreign investment in online shopping sites was allowed, provided they functioned only as virtual marketplaces matching outside buyers and sellers — and did not fund discounts or sell goods themselves.

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I can’t identify an Indian ecommerce company that offers a challenge to Amazon or Flipkart

But Amazon and Flipkart — which was backed by foreign investors and recently bought by Walmart — found ways to sidestep these rules, using subsidiary companies to buy in bulk and fund discounts. By explicitly banning these practices, the new draft policy would force a significant change in how these companies operate. 

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“The government will now be properly implementing the previous policy — giving it teeth,” said one person who took part in private consultations on the policy.

The restrictions on pricing could affect momentum in a market that has been growing rapidly but remains small by global standards: online retail spending in India grew about 30 per cent last year to $21bn, according to Forrester Research.

But the proposals have been welcomed by local lobby groups, which have complained that the ecommerce discounts amount to anti-competitive, predatory pricing. The Confederation of All India Traders said the new policy’s proposed creation of a dedicated ecommerce regulator will prevent online marketplaces from manoeuvring around the rules.

Amazon’s use of subsidiaries to offer large discounts has been “the single biggest killer of small businesses in this country,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, founder of online marketplaces ShopClues and Droom, adding that India would have done better to adopt from the start “a digital policy similar to China’s”.

Mr Aggarwal and other local technology entrepreneurs have called for more protection for Indian start-ups from giant US competitors, arguing that Chinese government protection helped to foster a powerful group of tech companies that are increasingly prominent on the international stage.

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Most analysts now view India’s ecommerce market as a two-horse race for dominance between Amazon — which has committed at least $5bn of investment to India — and Walmart, whose $16bn takeover of Flipkart was the biggest ever in the sector.

“I can’t identify an Indian ecommerce company that offers a challenge to Amazon or Flipkart,” said Devangshu Dutta, head of retail consultancy Third Eyesight.

  More serious competition, he added, could come from an expansion into online shopping by large offline groups. Both Reliance Industries — which is making a huge bet on digital services through its Jio subsidiary — and the Tata Group have recently held talks with Alibaba on a possible ecommerce joint venture, said a person with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Whether or not the discount crackdown fuels competition in general ecommerce, analysts say it should help create opportunities for online retail sites focused on niche markets, and boost earnings for the merchants who sell on Amazon and Flipkart.

For the sector, ending its fixation with discounts would be an important step forward, argued Sandeep Murthy, a partner at Mumbai-based venture capital firm Lightbox.

“It’s just stupid business practice to be selling products this way,” he said. “People need to come to that realisation and deliver useful products or services that consumers are actually willing to pay for.”

Source: ft