Amazon India has been asked by electronic brands to offer discounts not more than 15%, during its ongoing Diwali sale, reports The Economic Times. Citing sources, the report says that these brands have asked that Amazon's pricing shouldn't go below the "landing price" i.e. the rate at which brick-and-mortar buys goods from them. HTC India country head Faisal Siddiqui told the publication that they are asking Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart to stick to the recommended pricing, while Sony India managing director Kenichiro Hibi has reportedly sent a letter to a small retailers lobby All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) that they will be closely monitoring any undercutting and will take "appropriate lawful steps". Some companies are reportedly stopping fresh sales in case of Flipkart. Last month, Samsung decided to sell 48 smartphones offline exclusively, including the recently launched Galaxy Alpha and Note 4. This is after a spate of online exclusives from Samsung, Micromax, Philips and Karbonn among others. Why are retailers complaining now? While retailers have been raising predatory pricing concerns for quite some time now, they are shouting about it from the rooftops now because its hitting them where it hurts the most: the Diwali shopping season. Consumers tend to postpone their bigger purchases to Diwali to get discounts and it's quite common to see offline retailers competing each other to offer better discounts to consumers. So when online retailers are doing exactly what offline retailers do, why are they suddenly crying foul? It's almost like warring factions coming together against a common enemy. There is also some irony here: Future…
