India’s new norms prevent Amazon from hawking items under its own label. What does this spell for one of the world’s fastest growing ecommerce markets?
Amazon is in a tough spot in India, one of its largest markets outside the US. New government-issued norms, which kicked in just today, prevent foreign firms from selling their products directly to consumers. That means the retail giant is barred from hawking items under its own label, as well as those made available from local sellers that the company has invested in.
As a result, the entire range of AmazonBasics products – which includes everything from batteries to laptop cases to camera tripods – are currently unavailable across the country. Amazon‘s range of Echo smart speakers, meanwhile, are only available through third-party sellers on the site, and most of them are scheduled to ship weeks from now.
Amazon India told TNW:
The norms also prevent marketplaces from hosting more than a quarter of their inventory from a single vendor, and restricts their ability to present deep discounts.
