Recently, Carrefour China's first member store officially opened in Shanghai. However, on the opening day, there was an embarrassing incident, and some of the goods were temporarily hired by suppliers to sweep and buy out on the spot. Late that night, Carrefour issued an open letter angrily accusing competitors of forcing suppliers to "choose one of the two" and involving unfair competition, and had reported it to the relevant departments.
Subsequently, Hema also stated that it had encountered "supply cuts" from suppliers, and the competition pair of pressure suppliers was the same.
Who are the so-called "competitors" of the two companies?
Many netizens speculated
Could it be Sam's Club?
In this regard, Carrefour said that regarding whether the "competition" in the open letter is the Sam's Club that is transmitted online, it is impossible to give a precise answer at present, and it can only reveal that the "competition" is a relatively large-scale similar paid membership supermarket.
On October 25, @Sam's Club issued a statement in response to recent rumors of "either-or" in the market.
Carrefour says it is "one of the two"
On October 22, a letter of apology unveiled the dark war between the supermarket giants. On this day, Carrefour China's first member store officially opened in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. However, late that night, the official Weibo of the Carrefour Club posted a special "letter of apology".
Carrefour said that on the first day of its membership store, it encountered a large number of brand suppliers who expressed their willingness to no longer cooperate, because its direct competitors gave these brand suppliers a "two-choice" rule, that is, if they want to cooperate with Carrefour clubs, they can no longer cooperate with rival member stores, and if they choose rival member stores, they are no longer allowed to cooperate with Carrefour member stores.
After the open letter was published, things still did not get better.
The next day, that is, on the morning of the 23rd, Carrefour found that on the side of the toy shelf with the brand of "each membership card can only buy two pieces of the same product", there were many students who looked like customers sweeping the goods, and it seemed that the supplier was determined to buy the shelves empty, in order to make a difference with another company.
Hema: It is also suffering similar treatment
On October 25, Hema said it was also suffering similar treatment. Chang Yin, general manager of Hema X Club, said:
Since the opening of the first store in October last year, Hema X member stores have also suffered from similar situations for a long time. In addition, in cities outside of Shanghai, some suppliers have been forced to stop cooperating with Hema X Club under pressure.
Based on this, Hema X Club and Carrefour Club will maintain close communication at the procurement level and work together to solve the current situation.
In addition, Hema intends to report to the relevant departments, hoping to jointly promote a fair competitive market environment. People familiar with the matter said that in October last year, the opening of hema's first X member store also encountered a small number of suppliers "buying short" goods, and now several X member stores are still facing pressure, mainly 3C, home appliance categories, such as some style specifications restrictions, and non-cooperation.
It is understood that according to Article 7 of the Measures for the Administration of Fair Trade among Retailers and Suppliers, retailers shall not engage in the following acts that hinder fair competition:
1. Restrict the price of goods sold directly by suppliers to consumers and other business operators;
2. Restrictions on suppliers supplying or providing sales services to other retailers.
Up to now, in addition to the public relations caliber, there is no direct evidence that Carrefour and Hema released sam's club to implement the "two to choose one".
Carrefour and Hema have communicated
Carrefour told reporters that it has communicated with Hema to resolutely oppose unfair competition in the commercial field and oppose forcing merchants to "choose one of the two" by its own market position, and has reported to the relevant departments of the Shanghai Municipal Supervision Bureau.
An industry insider told reporters that although Carrefour did not disclose the exact target of the competition, Sam's Club was suspected to be not out of thin air. As early as August 2015, local retailer Wumart Group opened its first membership store in Chaoyang, Beijing, but according to Wumart executives, on the first day of opening, it encountered the withdrawal of a number of suppliers, and most of the goods involved were bought in batches by mystery customers on the first day of the opening after the supplier's request to remove the shelves was rejected, and Sam was accused of putting pressure on the supplier behind his back.
Sam's Club issued a statement
Respond to "either-or" rumors
On the afternoon of the 25th, in response to the recent rumors of "choosing one of the two" in the market, Sam issued a statement on the official Weibo, saying that he had never found such problems. The full text of the statement is as follows -
1. We believe that all discussions that attract public attention should first be based on facts, starting from the overall situation of promoting the benign and healthy development of the industry, protecting the interests of consumers, and maintaining fair competition and harmonious development of the market. So far, we have not seen any direct or indirect facts provided by the parties that indicate that Sam's Club has the so-called "either-or" problem. We hope that the parties concerned can proceed from the facts, stop the behavior that disrupts the market order, focus on their own operations, and benefit more consumers.
2. Sam's Club's operation in China has always adhered to the principle of legal compliance. Upon learning of this rumor, we immediately launched a self-examination. To date, no issues have been identified from the parties concerned.
3. At the same time, after 25 years of deep cultivation in the membership retail industry, Sam's Club has been practicing and once again calling for enterprises to focus on their own characteristic development and continuous innovation of goods and services. This is the basis for the benign and healthy development of the entire industry. Simple commodity reproduction and homogeneous competition really harm the interests of consumers.
4. Sam's Club values our brand reputation and its efforts to adhere to legal and compliant operations in China for many years. We reserve all legal rights to defend our reputation and legitimate interests.
Carrefour: Resolutely resist any
Acts of unfair competition in the business sector
On the evening of October 25, Carrefour responded to the "two alternatives". The person in charge of carrefour clubs said that Carrefour clubs call for fair and adequate market competition, which can bring consumers more cost-effective goods and services, and will also better promote the development of the industry. Carrefour is willing to work with industry partners to resolutely resist unfair competition in any business sector.
At the same time, Carrefour Club will continue to provide more convenient, cost-effective and intimate services for member users based on the positioning of member stores around consumers.
As a "new track" in the chain industry, the membership store has been generally optimistic about the retail giants and will become the main battlefield of a new round of physical commercial competition.
Chen Jie, an expert on zero supply relations in the chain industry and director of the Oriental FMCG Center, believes that one party uses a strong position to force relevant parties to implement "two choices one", violating fair trade, and Ali and Meituan dealt with by the State Administration of Market Supervision this year are good examples.
Chen Jie called on relevant government departments to strengthen supervision and create a more level playing field in the market. He also suggested that industry associations should also pay enough attention to this phenomenon, such as whether it is possible to form an "industry convention" as soon as possible in the location of member stores, and jointly create a good ecology for the orderly development of the industry.
Do you have membership cards for these stores?
What are your thoughts on the competition between membership supermarkets?
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Comprehensive @ Sam's Club, The Paper, Shangguan News, 21st Century Economic News
Editors: Dong Juncheng, Shirley, Little Master
Reviewer: Bian Yinghao
Source: Orient Net
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