 "Jeff Bezos' India love story: The $2bn cheque and Amazon's obsession with customers")
Onthe first day of hisfour-day visit to India, where a battle is brewing in the ecommerce space, Jeff Bezos, chairman of the world’s biggest online retailer Amazon, reposed his faith in India despite the policy hurdles and also brushed aside Flipkart’s sales theatrics that coincided with his tour.
According to various media reports, Bezos indicated in Bangalore that policy hurdles in India is not impacting the company’s investment plans for the country. India is yet to allow FDI in online retail. Another issue is lack of clarity in tax laws that is impacting the company’s functioning in various states.
“I don’t see any obstacles… This model is doing extremely well,” Bezos has been quoted as saying in an interview in the Hindustan Times. The company has a market place model of business in India.
Showing off his committment to India, Bezos flashed a cheque of $2 billion while travelling in a truck in Bangalore, said a report in The Times of India. He has saidIndia is amazing and the country energizes him.
“Our job is to adapt ourselves to whatever rules and regulations local countries have. India is no different,” he has told the HT.
His has come calling to India to thank his employees here and also to celebrate the past year, he has told the Business Standard. “The Indian team is like slave driver… If I say five minutes of rest, they are like, no!” he has told the newspaper.
He has a “very full agenda’ to meet customers, media and team members but no plan finalised yet to meet government officials.
To a question on Flipkart and its sales promotion in the city coinciding with his visit, he said Amazon’s focus is on customers and not rivals. Earlier, Firstbiz’s R Jagannathan had noted that the Indian online retailer’s strategy may be pointless, even if the idea is to drown out the Amazon chatter that will begin in the media when Bezos lands in India.
“Flipkart would do better by saving its firepower for its customers when Bezos leaves,” the article had argued.
Bezos too is more or less advising the same.
When asked whether he saw Flipkart’s billboards on his way from the airport, Bezos told the BS, “No, I did not see… At Amazon, we have a long history of obsessing over customers rather than competition.”
Read the interviews here , here and here .