Written by Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s largest retail distributor group has asked antitrust authorities to investigate three Zomato-owned quick commerce companies – Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto – over alleged predatory pricing. This was revealed in Sunday’s letter.
Quick commerce is the new shopping craze in India, with companies promising delivery of everything from groceries to electronics within 10 minutes, reshaping the way Indians shop, and Amazon ( It is challenging e-commerce giants such as NASDAQ:).
The All India Consumer Product Distributors Confederation (AICPDF), which represents 400,000 retail distributors from major companies such as Nestlé and Hindustan, said in a letter dated October 18. unilever (LON:) told the antitrust agency that quick commerce companies engage in predatory pricing, or offering deep discounts or selling below cost to lure customers.
Swiggy, which operates Zomato’s Blinkit, Zept, and Instamart delivery services and is backed by SoftBank (TYO:), did not respond to questions from Reuters.
According to the letter, several consumer goods companies are working directly with quick-commerce companies to expand their reach, sidelining the traditional sales force that has gone from store to store for decades to deliver orders. It is said that there is.
Such practices would make it “impossible for traditional retailers to compete or survive,” said the letter, which was not made public but seen by Reuters.
It called on the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to “take protective measures to protect the interests of traditional distributors and small retailers.”
CCI also did not respond to inquiries from Reuters, and AICPDF declined to comment on the letter.
According to research firm Datum Intelligence, annual revenue for quick commerce platforms in India is expected to exceed $6 billion this year, with Blinkit accounting for nearly 40% market share, and Swiggy and Zepto each around 30%. .
A government official told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, that the CCI has the power to launch its own investigation if it determines there is merit to the complaint.
In August, the CCI’s investigation arm found that e-commerce giants Amazon and Walmart (NYSE:)’s Flipkart violated local laws through predatory pricing, although both companies denied the allegations. There is.
Reflecting the strength of its quick commerce segment, Zomato’s share price has doubled this year and Swiggy is set to launch a $1 billion-plus IPO in the coming weeks.
