Alesha Mart sued for unfair discounts

The Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) yesterday filed a case against Alesha Mart, an e-commerce company, for creating uneven competition in the market by offering unfair discounts.

The case was lodged under the Competition Act, 2012, which states that no business enterprise can abuse its dominant position.

The commission had filed a complaint against the e-commerce firm on its own in November.

According to the lawsuit, Alesha Mart sold Bajaj Pulsar brand motorcycles that have 150 cubic capacity engines at a price that was 35 per cent lower than the market value in June 2021.

Alesha Mart destabilised both the online and offline motorcycle market in Bangladesh through the discounted price, which is illegal and contrary to the law, the commission said in its lawsuit.

It was told that SK Traders, listed as the bike's authorised seller on Alesha Mart, had offered the model at a lower price on the e-commerce platform. However, no such company was found, it added.

A senior BCC official told The Daily Star that the commission filed the complaint only after examining all the evidence.

As such, the BCC yesterday served a notice on Alesha Mart in this regard, asking it to appear before the commission on February 16 to make a statement.

"Anyone in Bangladesh doing business, either online or offline, would have to do business as per rules. No one will be able to run any kind of business outside the rules," said Md Mofizul Islam, chairperson of the BCC.

When contacted, Md Monzur Alam Sikder, chairman of Alesha Mart, said he does not know anything about the case.

He says that the firm owes to 6,500 to 7,000 customers in terms of undelivered goods and refunds.

 "I urge everyone to be patient. Alesha Mart is not going anywhere and I'm not going anywhere either. You'll get your money back," he said in a video message on the company's verified Facebook page on Sunday.

"We have an urgent meeting with the commerce ministry on February 6, after which you'll get a clear guideline," he added.

During a press conference in July last year, Sikder said his firm gave subsidies of Tk 350 crore in six months, all of which was for selling motorcycles at a big discount. However, the company made a profit of Tk 140 crore by selling other products during the same period.

"As a result, the net subsidy in six months was Tk 210 crore but the products were sold for Tk 110 crore," he added.

Alesha Mart sought Tk 300 crore in working capital from the commerce ministry on December 2, as it plans to refund customers and resume operations in full.

But on December 15, the ministry said the government would not give any financial support to the e-commerce company.