NEW DELHI: Traders across New Delhi and various parts of the country on Monday held protest against US retail giant Walmart's acquisition of online retailer Flipkart and demanded the Government to se deal since it will prove much against the interests of retail trade and economy of India.
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the umbrella body under which the protests were organized also wants the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to reject Walmart's proposal to pick up a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for $16 billion and want the government to come up with an e-commerce policy.
CAIT said that, if this issue is not addressed immediately, the traders of the country will decide future course of action in National Convention of CAIT to be held at Delhi from 23rd July to 25th July. "The deal will create an unfair competition and uneven level playing field. Walmart is bound to give preference to its inventory.
There will be denial of market access to non Prefered sellers and other unhealthy practices. We hope for the government to respond to this protest and take an action against the Walmart-Flipkart deal," Praveen Khandelwal, the secretary general of CAIT said. Khandelwal said that he expected a million people to join Monday's protests across hundreds of cities. However, in Delhi, the protest did not gather large number of people.
Meanwhile walmart has defended the deal and said the deal is fully legal and in line with the government policies. "This partnership (with Flipkart) will support SME suppliers, farmers in the country to get access to the market through this platform and boost local manufacturing in India.We believe the combined capabilities of Flipkart and Walmart will create India's leading e-commerce platform.
"Our partnership with Flipkart will provide thousands of local suppliers and manufacturers access to consumers through the marketplace model," Rajneesh Kumar, senior vice president, Walmart India, said in a statement.
Satinder Wadhwa, a watch seller who attended the Delhi demonstration, said a cash-rich Flipkart will be a major threat to small businesses like his own, which were already suffering due to a ban on high-value currency notes in Dec. 2016 and Goods and Service Tax (GST) as well.
Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered Walmart announced in May that it was acquiring roughly 77 percent of Flipkart, a deal that now awaits the approval of India's anti-trust regulator.
Multiple sources and lawyers close to the deal have previously told Reuters that while the Competition Commission of India will consider all arguments, the CAIT did not pose a challenge to the acquisition.
Walmart, which currently runs 21 cash-and-carry stores in India, said on Monday it had been supporting local manufacturing in India by sourcing from small and medium suppliers, farmers and businesses run by women.
"Our partnership with Flipkart will provide thousands of local suppliers and manufacturers access to consumers through the marketplace model," Rajneesh Kumar, senior vice president, Walmart India, said in a statement.
(with Reuters input)