- Small business owners in India are protesting Amazon, saying they won't be able to compete with the steep discounts it offers other suppliers.
- An organizer of the protest said Amazon will "destroy small retailers" and called CEO Jeff Bezos an "economic terrorist."
- The protests coincided with Bezos' trip to India, where he announced on Wednesday that Amazon plans to invest $1 billion in the country, calling a US-India alliance the "most important" of the 21st century.
- Meanwhile, India's antitrust regulator just opened an investigation into potential unfair business practices by Amazon and Walmart-owned online retailer Flipkart.
Amazon's planned $1 billion investment in India has not been met with open arms.
On Wednesday, CEO Jeff Bezos announced that the e-commerce giant wants to put money into "digitizing small and medium businesses" and said that, in the 21st century, "the most important alliance is going to be the alliance between India and the United States."
However, small business owners in India don't seem to think that alliance should involve Amazon, and thousands took to the streets this week in protest. Sumit Agarwal of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said demonstrations were planned in as many as 300 cities across the country.
Agarwal said in a tweet Amazon will "destroy small retailers" and called Bezos an "economic terrorist."
Here's a look at a few of the protests and why shop owners are so opposed to Amazon's presence in India.
Traders of @TEAMCAIT @AimraIndia @AICPDF will be protesting TODAY across 300 cities against the India visit of Amazon Chief Jeff Bezos who runs an organisation that expertises in predatory & anticompetitive business to destroy small retailers @praveendel @BCBHARTIA #GOBACKBEZOS pic.twitter.com/OorfqaUyqO
- SUMIT AGARWAL (@sumitagarwal_82) January 15, 2020