INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Amazon and Flipkart get a lot of their inventory through companies they own or back.Amazon.com Inc
find themselves on same side for once.The bitter rivals have come together in India to lobby government on regulations that threaten to
dampen their expansion ambitions
with knowledge of matter.The newly tightened regulations threaten to pinch Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart in one of world's fastest growing
online commerce arenas, where both have invested billions of dollars
They require online marketplaces to treat all vendors equally, effectively barring foreign companies from featuring exclusive products on
their platforms, owning inventory, and thus being able to influence pricing and offer huge discounts.In addition, Amazon and Flipkart get a
One such seller is Cloudtail, owned by a joint venture between Amazon and a company run by Infosys Ltd
billionaire co-founder Narayana Murthy
As rules stand, two American companies must sell any stakes they hold in such companies."They are campaigning together against new rules
because these companies have over $20 billion at stake in market," said Satish Meena, a New Delhi-based forecast analyst at Forrester
"At least another $10 billion investment will be made by these two companies in next few years and this is leverage they are trying to
Online Services Pvt, and Amazon has invested in offline retailers like Shopper's Stop and is reportedly discussing investing in Future
Amazon said Friday it's evaluating new guidelines and will engage government as needed, without addressing issue of joint lobbying
Flipkart didn't respond to emails seeking comment.The regulations were announced last week, a few months ahead of national elections, when
government will need support of vast group of small retailers who've been hit by growth of online retail and other government moves
Those same merchants have accused Amazon and Flipkart in past of predatory practices.It isn't all bad for Amazon and Walmart, however
The government's Department of Industrial Policy Promotion clarified on Thursday that present policy does not prevent private labels from
being sold on marketplace, meaning Amazon and Flipkart can still push their own wares in categories ranging from fashion to consumer
