It's sale as usual: Amazon, Flipkart tell online-only companies

Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart have told mobile phones, electronics and other companies, which sell their wares exclusively on these platforms, that they will be able to operate like they do now — albeit with some tweaks and rephrasing of agreements — once the revised ecommerce FDI norms come into effect.

Two senior industry executives said top officials of these two marketplaces have told the companies that while they can’t mandate exclusivity, the brands can still be exclusive to them as they are free to adopt their channel and sales strategy.

A rewording of the pacts that the companies have entered into with the marketplaces or the sellers would be required to make it clear the brands are exclusive to the platform as part of their sales strategy and the marketplace has no role in it, they said.

Amazon India