Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Amazon vs Reliance: Why are two of the world's richest men in court?

Amazon vs Reliance: Why are two of the world's richest men in court?

A tussle over an Indian grocery company has pitted the world’s largest e-commerce business Amazon against India’s largest company Reliance.

The companies are at odds because they both made separate deals with the same Indian retailer - Future Group.

Analysts say the legal battle, in which an American behemoth is facing off against a local hero with a home field advantage, could shape the growth of e-commerce in India for years to come.

“I think this is massive. Amazon has never seen this kind of rival in any of their markets,” Satish Meena, a senior forecast analyst from the consultancy Forrester, told the BBC.

Amazon made its founder Jeff Bezos the world’s richest man (although he no longer holds the title) and the company has transformed retail globally. But Reliance Chief Executive Mukesh Ambani - who is India’s richest man - also has a history as a disrupter.

Industry analysts think his retail plans will pose a challenge to Amazon, and to Walmart-owned Flipkart too.

Amazon has been aggressively expanding its presence in India, where it hopes to cash in on a growing e-commerce market. Reliance also has plans to expand both its e-commerce and its grocery business.

What is the battle over Future Group?


Future Group recently made a deal to sell $3.4bn worth of retail assets to Reliance Industries earlier this year.

Since 2019, Amazon has owned a 49% stake in Future Coupons, which gives it an indirect ownership stake in Future Retail. Amazon argues that as a part of that purchase, Future Group was prevented from selling to a select group of Indian companies, including Reliance.

Mukesh Ambani has a home advantage against Amazon


Future Retail, which is a predominantly a bricks and mortar business, was hit hard by the pandemic, and contends that its deal with Reliance is essential to keeping the company afloat.

The most recent round in court went to Future Group. Last Monday, The Delhi high court reversed a decision from a week earlier that put the sale on hold.

Amazon has appealed.

What’s at stake?


If Reliance’s purchase is allowed to proceed, it would give its retail arm access to over 1,800 stores in more than 420 cities in India, as well as Future Group’s wholesale business and logistics arm.

“Reliance is a player which has the money, which has the influence which is required in this market. They don’t have the expertise to do e-commerce,” said Mr Meena.

If Amazon succeeds, it may gain the upper hand, slowing a key competitor’s plans to push into e-commerce.

Analysis: Nikhil Inamdar, BBC News Mumbai


This high-octane tussle between two of the world's richest men is an indication of how high the stakes are for Mr Bezos and Mr Ambani in a market often described as the last growth frontier. It is also evidence of how tough it is becoming for foreign players to do business in India.

Amazon is only the latest in a list of high profile foreign companies unable to get their Indian partners to comply with emergency orders from overseas arbitrators, and to face flip-flops from the local courts. India recently lost two major international arbitration awards in tax dispute cases against Cairn Energy Plc and telecoms major Vodafone, and has challenged the ruling against the latter.


"There is no doubt that foreign investors will view this situation, and similar such occurrences with dismay. The decision will send a negative signal on India being a reliable place in which to invest and do business," Rupa Subramanya, a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, told the BBC.

Amazon is unlikely to give up without a fight though, and not least because the acquisition would give Reliance what analysts have termed an "unparalleled advantage".

But pitted against a home player like Reliance, the playing field is already uneven for Amazon. Government rules prohibit foreign e-commerce companies from keeping their own inventory or selling private labels directly to consumers - widely seen as a protectionist policy that favours local retailers. Amazon has also been facing increasing pushback via tighter norms on data use and growing calls for self-reliance by India's prime minister Narendra Modi.

Eyes on the prize


Amazon and Reliance are willing to fight over the Indian market because of its unparalleled potential for growth.

“There’s no other market after the US and China that gives them this type of opportunity,” Mr Meena said.

India’s retail sector is worth about $850bn, said Mr Meena, but at the moment only a small fraction of that is e-commerce. But Forrester tips the Indian market to grow at 25.8% a year to reach $85bn by 2023.

As a result, e-commerce is becoming an increasingly crowded and competitive market. In addition to Amazon, WalMart has partnered with home-grown e-commerce brand FlipKart. Even Facebook has become involved, paying $5.7bn for a 9.9% stake in Jio Platforms, owned by Reliance Industries.

Food fight


Groceries are the biggest prize in retail in India, because they account for about half of all spending there. Currently, it is typically non-perishable items such as smartphones that dominate e-commerce.

But the pandemic accelerated the shift towards e-commerce for groceries, in part because India had one of the strictest lockdowns.

“People got stuck at home. So more and more had to start using online services,” said business consultancy AT Kearney’s head of Consumer and Retail for Asia Himanshu Bajaj.

“Grocery is becoming a major battleground, and with Covid even more so,” he said.


So what is Jeff Bezos going to do now?


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
×