KOLKATA: Top electronics brands have asked executives at Amazon India to offer moderate discounts, not more than 15%, during its week-long Diwali sale starting October 10. This opens a few days after Flipkart’s October 6 Billion Day Sale, during which prices were slashed dramatically on some goods, leading to a backlash from traditional retail. The companies have asked that Amazon pricing not go below the ‘landing price’ or the rate at which brick-and-mortar stores buys goods from them, people aware of the development said.

Exclusive products for Amazon sale

At the same time, some brands such as Videocon are offering exclusive products for the Amazon sale so that there are no complaints from offline traders. Brands such as Sony and HTC have also issued fresh advisories ahead of the Amazon sale that they may seek to rein in discounts by curbing supplies altogether. “Typically, brick-and-mortar retailers have a 10-15% margin, which goes up to 18-20% during Diwali.
We have asked Amazon and other e-commerce firms not to go beyond this at any cost,” said a senior executive at an consumer electronics firm. One of Amazon’s vendors said the world’s largest e-commerce firm was being careful about its forthcoming sale after the backlash over the Flipkart sale among consumers and brands. Videocon chief operating officer CM Singh said Amazon is expected to be much more cautious since it has a reputation to protect as a global leader. “We have close business ties with Amazon India and we expect they would stick to it,” he said.

In a letter to the small retailers lobby, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), Sony India managing director Kenichiro Hibi said the company is closely monitoring any undercutting and will take “appropriate lawful steps”. Canon wasn’t too sure whether its price tags would be held in some instances at least. “The models that we deal with Amazon will be at sold at authorised price points but other material which is arranged by them from market is sold at their own price points, which is always a matter of concern,” Canon India executive vice-president Alok Bharadwaj said.

“We don’t know what are they selling tomorrow.” HTC said in a trade advisory that online marketplaces are planning to buy large stocks of its new models from large brickand-mortar retailers and sell them online. HTC said it will penalise any trade partners selling online. While it cannot stop anyone from selling in the online marketplaces, HTC told ET that it’s advising trade partners to sell through their own channels and maintain pricing, since it affects the whole eco-system. “We are also in dialogue with Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal to stick to the recommended pricing,” said HTC India country head Faisal Siddiqui. When contacted, an Amazon India spokeswoman said the marketplace has been running a Diwali sale promotion since September 21. “Tomorrow will be our Diwali Dhamaka Week… we are on plan and will update you as soon as we make that information available to all. We don’t release any information till such time we are ready and live,” she said. Meanwhile, AIMRA general secretary Dheeraj Malik said the association had met commerce and industry ministry Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the Amazon sale.