Why India's Salesmen Are Protesting Against JioMart: "We Face Ruin"
NDTV
In Maharashtra- home to Vita - and Tamil Nadu, traditional salesmen have organised blockades of some JioMart delivery vehicles.
For eight straight days, household goods salesman Vipresh Shah has failed to sell a single pack of Dettol soap to the storekeepers who have been buying from him ever since he took over his family business as a teenager, 14 years ago.
Mr Shah is an official distributor for Britain's Reckitt Benckiser in Vita, near Sangli city, around 200 miles south of Mumbai. But he said once-loyal customers now point to an app - JioMart Partner - on their smartphones showing prices up to 15% lower, instead of placing orders.
"As Reckitt's distributor, I used to be like a prince in the market," said Mr Shah. "Now the buyer tells me, 'See how much you've been ripping us off!'"
The 31-year-old said he lost $2,000 of his own money as he discounted products to match prices on JioMart, the app rolled out by Reliance Industries billionaire Mukesh Ambani in his drive to revolutionise retail distribution in India.
