Indian retailing brands Big Bazaar, Hyper-City, Star Bazaar, D-Mart, Walmart-owned Best Price Modern Wholesale, Big-Basket have accused Amazon of 'ambush marketing'. As reported by Economic Times, retailers are now removing the items as they see this as a move by Amazon to acquire their customers. Packs of brands such as ITC’s Yippee Noodles, Nestle’s KitKat chocolate and Coca Cola’s Sprite and Fanta soft drinks are among the brands that are, or were, being retailed at offline stores along with Amazon gift coupons. Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group said: “We will not allow ambush marketing at any cost. We have started removing such products from the shelves and told brands not to supply us packs that have any promotional tie-up with a rival retailer.” “The act of promoting a specific distribution channel through a cash incentive on products sold through traditional distribution is not good for the growth of the industry,” he said. “Small traders and retailers will be significantly impacted from a promotion, which is incentivising consumers to shop in a competing channel.” D-Mart chief executive Neville Noronha referred Amazon's bundled coupon move as one “below the belt.” He said: “Principally, the brands should have spoken to us. Amazon is using us as a channel to acquire customers without any agreement with us. We’ve communicated our point of view to the brands. An Amazon spokesperson said : “Amazon regularly runs various kinds of promotional activities with sellers and brand partners in keeping with its vision to make online commerce a part of everyday life." Recently, Indian online companies form lobby to combat global rivals Amazon and Uber.
Established Indian supermarkets have withdrawn a number of big name brands from their shelves, after accusing Amazon of "ambush marketing" to steal their customers. Amazon had bundled gift vouchers with packs of Nestle's KitKat chocolate and Coca Cola's Sprite and Fanta, among others. In response, retailers including Bazaar, D-Mart and Walmart's Best Price Modern Wholesale have returned the products and complained to the brands involved. The move comes as India's retail sector is struggling under rising inflation and falling consumer confidence.