Competition Commission ecommerce inquiry public hearing slots announced

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Takealot's dominance in South Africa investigated — all the companies joining

The Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (OIPMI) at the Competition Commission has released the schedule of participants for the public hearings to be on 2–19 November 2021.

The Competition Commission announced its inquiry in February, stating that it would encompass companies such as Takealot, Uber Eats, and Airbnb.
 
Some interesting things in the "Further Statement of Issues" list actually.

Some good may actually come from this if they pick on the valid issues.
 
Am I too isolated, or is half of the "Ecommerce platforms" list a who's who, of "who are you"? I mean you can't even purchase from PriceCheck, which is a shopping discovery or price comparison tool...
 
Spelling mistake:
AKTV -> ATKV
Should be interesting... Wonder if they are going to fine them for dominating the market? (I'm looking at Takealot, specifically)
 
ToxicBunny said:
Some interesting things in the "Further Statement of Issues" list actually.

Some good may actually come from this if they pick on the valid issues.
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By large, those issues are tackling incentivisation which is also competition. I am curious whether this will impede sponsored rankings because then all ad-driven mediums will be under the guillotine.

This,

The rationale for, and impact of, higher commissions and listing fees charged to small restaurants, auto dealers and estate agents relative to larger national chains on food delivery platforms and online classifieds (automotive and property)
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I agree with and would say it needs to scale, it is the reason why we have regional pricing on a global scale. I would lean the same way in regard to price-parity.

These two,

The impact of massive search engine marketing and consumer promotions by leading platforms on the ability of emerging platforms and individual businesses to get consumer visibility online.
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The reticence of prominent brands or larger business chains to support emerging platforms and the impact of this on consumer adoption and platform growth.
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however, I don't agree with. I say this with a marketing background.

The rest are open to debate, but doing business costs, not only does it cost money, but it is also a commitment.

This one,

The general lack of platform initiatives to support the transformation of the online economy and the increased involvement by SA businesses on global platforms.
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what is the Competition Commission expecting to be answered with, this issue lacks elaboration, but I know what it entails.
 
deweyzeph said:
Where is the Competition Commission while the Post Office is trying to enforce its monopoly on packages less than 1kg? Funny that they don't have a thing to say about that.
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You need to ask what is their mandate? Do they deem SAPO as a means to reach equity?
 
Fulcrum29 said:
You need to ask what is their mandate? Do they deem SAPO as a means to reach equity?
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Part of their mandate is to investigate restrictive business practices. I would say that putting an entire industry out of business doesn't get much more restrictive than that.
 
Cadres: "We need to make millions from e-commerce, what tenders can we "manage" "?
Answer: "None, people like Takealot are making all the money through hard work, investment, proper market research, thought, educated management and more"
Cadres: "Ok so we need to get rid of them, pay someone at Competition Commission to find a reason for them not to be able to make their money then we can launch something."
Answer: "We have no experience in e-commerce at all"
Cadres: "Exactly, we'll make millions through forced business and government sponsorships!"
 
deweyzeph said:
Part of their mandate is to investigate restrictive business practices. I would say that putting an entire industry out of business doesn't get much more restrictive than that.
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Yet our Constitution promotes equality, but we are governed by racial targets. How you deem it and how they deem it doesn't necessarily equate to the same value.

I would wish to see the Competition Commission address said monopolistic mechanism.
 
neoprema said:
Cadres: "We need to make millions from e-commerce, what tenders can we "manage" "?
Answer: "None, people like Takealot are making all the money through hard work, investment, proper market research, thought, educated management and more"
Cadres: "Ok so we need to get rid of them, pay someone at Competition Commission to find a reason for them not to be able to make their money then we can launch something."
Answer: "We have no experience in e-commerce at all"
Cadres: "Exactly, we'll make millions through forced business and government sponsorships!"
Click to expand...

Exactly. In a proper free market economy there is no need for a competition commission. Anybody with the brains, money and talent is free to go and start their own multi-billionaire rand Ecommerce platform should they wish. There is absolutely nothing stopping them, apart from, ironically, the Competition Commission.
 
Takealot also started as a small business and grew through the years.
Started in june 2011
10 years and they have achieved so much.

ANC in power for 27 years and achieved nothing.
 
Fuzzbox said:
Takealot also started as a small business and grew through the years.
Started in june 2011
10 years and they have achieved so much.

ANC in power for 27 years and achieved nothing.
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Take2 was founded in 2002
became Takealot in 2011
Added Kalahari.net in 2015

Proper success story over a 19 year span.
 
The general lack of platform initiatives to support the transformation of the online economy and the increased involvement by SA businesses on global platforms
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And that is what it is actually about!
 
deweyzeph said:
Exactly. In a proper free market economy there is no need for a competition commission. Anybody with the brains, money and talent is free to go and start their own multi-billionaire rand Ecommerce platform should they wish. There is absolutely nothing stopping them, apart from, ironically, the Competition Commission.
Click to expand...

So how’s that working out for the US.. every conservatives wet dream of a state? Last I checked Amazon cannibalizes entire sectors it ventured into.

When they bought a small grocer, Ie Whole Foods, who was a tiny minority of the entire grocery market segment the other grocer stock immediately fell on announcement.

Have a bit of a look at the many stories of how they dominate that market not just by “good” business strategy but also very manipulative practices usually seen with an monopoly incumbent and yes.. their CC is basically now playing catch-up.

Wrt e-commerce.. it’s got little to do with it.. it’s the “market place” and how this impacts other businesses who are on their platform. If they remained a “store” there would be very little justification for this. And this is still very much in the beginning phase.. if they really wanted they could disrupt a few other industries easily which have nothing to do with online stores and while I know this.. I suspect they haven’t purposely done so as they don’t ruffle feathers where it’s not itching but our CC is investigating anyway.
 
KikzAzz said:
And that is what it is actually about!
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Sure.. it’s not that they, as a market place can easily shift consumers to a store they have incentive to do so hey..

Btw if anything, I’d say on the restaurant side of things this has made “Dark Kitchens” more of a thing which is good as it reduced the cost of competition. But ensuring/verifying that the competition is not impeded is worth investigating I guess..
 
Well now, suppose that's what you get for getting the job done, well....
 
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