South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
E-commerce
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Online discount retailer Vipshop Holdings operates the fourth-largest business-to-consumer platform in China’s e-commerce market. Photo: Shutterstock
TechBig Tech

China slaps online retailer Vipshop with US$464,000 fine amid increased scrutiny of Big Tech

  • The State Administration for Market Regulation assessed the fine on Vipshop for unfair competition after launching an investigation last month
  • Tencent-backed Vipshop posed no objection to the fine and promised to rectify its business practices
E-commerce
Xinmei Shen
Xinmei Shen
Why you can trust SCMP
China’s top market regulator will impose a 3 million yuan (US$464,000) fine on online discount retailer Vipshop for unfair competition, a move that reinforces Beijing’s antitrust campaign in the country’s internet sector.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said in a statement on Monday that its investigation into Vipshop, covering data collected between August and December last year, found that the Guangzhou-based company ran an inspection system that obtained information about brands on its platform and others to gain a competitive advantage.

The firm also used a range of techniques to influence user choices and block the sale of certain products, which limited the traffic and transaction opportunities of certain brands, according to the SAMR.

In a statement posted on Weibo, Vipshop said that it had no objections to the regulator’s findings and that it will spare no effort to rectify its business practices.
Vipshop is one of the leading online discount retailers for brands in China. Photo: Martin Chan

The latest penalty levied on Vipshop bolsters Beijing’s initiative to crack down on unfair competition and monopolistic practices in China’s internet sector.

Vipshop, which runs the Vip.com e-commerce platform, was slapped with a 500,000 yuan fine by the SAMR in December last year in accordance with the country’s Price Law and other pricing regulations.

The regulator found seven price irregularities in Vipshop’s operations at the time. It also imposed the same 500,000 yuan fine last month on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall and JD.com for price irregularities. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.

China issues final version of anti-monopoly guidelines as Beijing moves to rein in Big Tech

Vipshop had a 2.5 per cent share of the business-to-consumer segment of China’s e-commerce market, according to a report by market research firm Analysys. That ranked the company behind B2C segment leader Tmall, JD.com and Suning.com.

New York-listed Vipshop, which counts Tencent Holdings and JD.com as investors, reported revenue of 23.2 billion yuan in the third quarter last year on 43.4 million active customers and total orders of 172 million, according to its financial results for the period.
Post