India’s Competition Commission has accused smartphone giants Samsung and Xiaomi of colluding with e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart to launch exclusive products, violating local antitrust laws, according to reports seen by Reuters.
The investigation, which examined business practices by Amazon and Flipkart, found that the platforms favored certain sellers, giving them priority listings and offering steep discounts. This was seen as harmful to other businesses. The 1,027-page report on Amazon revealed that Indian units of companies like Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme, and OnePlus were involved in launching phones exclusively on these platforms, breaching competition laws.
A similar 1,696-page report on Flipkart mentioned that companies like Vivo and Lenovo were also part of this practice. The inclusion of major smartphone makers like Samsung and Xiaomi could lead to further legal and compliance issues for these companies in India.
India’s e-commerce market is growing rapidly, and these findings are a setback for Amazon and Flipkart, who have already faced criticism from small retailers for years. Both companies are accused of using foreign investments to offer discounted services like warehousing and marketing to a select number of sellers, further hurting the competition.
The CCI is now reviewing these reports, and companies involved could face fines and be required to change their business practices.
(Source: Reuters)
