Reckitt Benckiser allays sales agents' concerns over unfair pricing

British FMCG giant Reckitt Benckiser has sought to allay concerns from its army of sales agents in India about unfair pricing, according to media reports. They say that the steps taken were to ensure a level-playing field for distributors.

The reports revealed that the sales agents of companies including Reckitt, Unilever, and Colgate were angry that the kiranas (grocery shops) in India increasingly ordered from Indian retailer Reliance’s mobile app because they could get lower prices.

In a letter dated December 20, Reckitt said it had taken steps to ensure “equitable play” for all its business partners as it seeks to resolve their concerns. There are hundreds of thousands of consumer goods distributors who go store-to-store in India to take orders from kirana outlets and they are key to the success of companies like Reckitt in trying to reach the population of 1.3 billion, said the letter.

The reports further mentioned the companies risked supply disruptions if they did not ensure pricing parity for all distributors.

“We have been extremely careful and discourage any unsustainable businesses with alternate distribution channel partners,” Reckitt said in the letter to the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF).

“Any violation is immediately flagged off and stopped,” it added, without naming Reliance or any other big distributor.
AICPDF president Dhairyashil Patil said it is "going by the company's words" for now and hopes Reckitt will be able to ensure a level-playing field.

 

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