Battle for vendors
The B2C firms are not only competing for consumers - they're also hoping to attract more vendors.
On October 12, 360buy said some vendors had to leave its promotion due to threats from Tmall that they could not participate in promotions by other platforms before Tmall's November 11 sales campaign. The company cited e-mails from Qiaodan Sports, down jacket maker Bosideng, clothes brand EBG, and bag and suitcase seller OSDY.
A senior executive at underwear producer Hongdou said the company was in a dilemma over the choice between Tmall and 360buy, and hoped that sellers could distribute resources on both these platforms, news portal Sina reported on October 12.
But Yan Qiao, director of PR for Tmall, refuted the charges on his Weibo on October 12, and said Tmall respects sellers' choices.
"We believe sellers have clear judgment about which activities to participate in, so we cannot decide that on their behalf and nobody can," he wrote.
Large-scale B2C firms hold strong positions in negotiations with suppliers, resulting in the same kind of conflicts between retailers and suppliers that have often been seen in offline retail, Zhao Ping, deputy director of the Consumer Research Department under the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times on October 30.
Therefore, regulations and policies that can protect suppliers' interests and resolve such conflicts are urgently needed, Zhao noted.
There will soon be more of the open online platforms like Tmall that allow shops to sell their products, so there will also be more companies striving to attract vendors, Lu Zhenwang, founder of Shanghai Wanqing Commerce Consulting Company, an Internet business research firm, told the Global Times on October 30.
Suning.com opened its platform to vendors in July this year. Amazon, Yihaodian and Tencent are also actively establishing open platforms, and more companies are expected to follow suit.
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling
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