“Brand manufacturers hold eCommerce back"

BVOH, the German trade organization for eCommerce, says a lot of brand manufacturers are creating obstacles for eCommerce.

Smaller retailers suffer most

The obstacles imposed by the brand manufacturers are varied: their customer service may be worse for items purchased online; they may only ship a limited number of items to online parties or they may prohibit a retailer from selling certain items online. Even worse: brand products may not be used in a price comparison tool or certain items may not be sold abroad.

The German eCommerce interest group did a survey with 7,000 retailers and found that mainly SMEs are targeted and that many thousands of companies in the European Union risk going bankrupt. Consumers are also at a disadvantage because there is a lack of competition, which results in consumers paying too much for their items.

In order to tackle these issues, BVOH launched a new website, www.choice-in-ecommerce.org, which lists about 2,000 companies and specifies what they have done to obstruct eCommerce. The top 10 are Nike, Addias, Deuter, Fossil, Soy, Trixie Heimtierbedarf, Apple, Dior, Lego and Nikon. BVOH asks the government to empower the EU’s Competition Authorities and to get rid of illegal practices that hinder competition.