Princes to paupers: India's salesmen face ruin as tycoon Ambani targets mom-and-pop stores

Shivkumar Singh, an owner of a store selling consumer goods, speaks with a sales representative at his store in Dharavi, Mumbai, in the western state of Maharashtra, India, September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

SANGLI, India (Reuters) - For eight straight days, household goods salesman Vipresh Shah has failed to sell a single pack of Dettol soap to the storekeepers who have been buying from him ever since he took over his family business as a teenager, 14 years ago.

Shah is an official distributor for Britain's Reckitt Benckiser in Vita, near Sangli city, around 200 miles south of Mumbai. But he said once-loyal customers now point to an app - JioMart Partner - on their smartphones showing prices up to 15% lower, instead of placing orders.