Amazon’s Bezos to face unprecedented protests during India trip

Bezos’s visit underscores India’s growing importance to his company. The billionaire is scheduled to take the stage alongside Agarwal in a fireside chat. — AFP

Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos is likely to be greeted by an unprecedented show of opposition during his short India visit this week, after thousands of small-time local retailers pledged to protest its pricing and exclusive-selling practices.

The Amazon chief executive is slated to headline the inaugural session of Amazon India’s event for small and medium businesses – “smbhav” – which kicks off Jan 15 in New Delhi. The billionaire is scheduled to take the stage alongside Amazon India chief Amit Agarwal in a fireside chat, anchoring an event that also features Infosys Ltd co-founder Narayana Murthy and retail billionaire Kishore Biyani, who recently sold a stake in his retail group to Amazon.