Amazon-backed Appario Retail, one of the largest sellers on Amazon India after Cloudtail, is asking select merchants and suppliers to supply their products exclusively for 30 days.
The communication, reviewed by TOI, from Appario, which is a subsidiary of the joint venture between Amazon and Patni Group, has sought such exclusivity for the first time from sellers as it plots a major sales event on Amazon India in August.
This comes when e-tailers cannot directly ask sellers to sell exclusively on one platform after the government made changes in FDI laws for e-commerce, which became effective in February last year. Since then, e-tailers usually term such exclusive launches as ‘specials’.
Appario largely sells products like smartphones, power banks, earphones, Wi-Fi routers, memory cards, and other electronic accessories that are currently in high demand after sales of all goods were allowed online. For context on its scale, Appario had a revenue of almost Rs 6,050 crore at the end of financial year ending March 2019, compared to Rs 755 crore in the previous year.
Interestingly, relatively larger brands selling via Appario have not been asked for such exclusive arrangements, yet. “We usually agree to release certain products exclusively for a better display on the platform, or else your product gets lost. But it’s not mandatory for us and the decision is mutual,” a prominent brand owner who sells through Appario said.
“This is happening for the first time. I typically sell more on Amazon and keep some for offline channels and other online platforms. This makes it difficult to sell through one of the largest sellers on Amazon,” the merchant mentioned earlier said. At least two others have also received a similar ask from Appario.
“We regularly engage with brands to help them launch their products on Amazon India marketplace. Brands have the sole discretion to decide how and where they want to launch their products, including the choice of sellers,” a spokesperson of Appario said. Amazon India said, “We do not comment on behalf of any of our sellers.”
Throughout last year, the government had told e-tailers that they would not entertain e-commerce rules being circumvented in India. Among the changes in FDI law, a group company of an e-tailer cannot sell on the same platform as a seller. Amazon had to reduce its stake to 24% from 49% in Cloudtail following the development. While Appario’s ask in this case is as a seller, it being backed by Amazon is noteworthy.
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