Biyani's Future Group ties up with Amazon India

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Future Group and Amazon India have formed a partnership by which the retailer will sell its merchandise exclusively online, the companies said on Monday, the latest in a series of such moves by traditional Indian merchants. Future Group is controlled by Kishore Biyani, known as the father of Indian retail. The group operates some of India's biggest retail chains including Big Bazaar, eZone, Brand Factory and Home Town. The alliance with Amazon is further evidence that traditional retailers in India have decided to join hands with e-commerce players rather than resist them. Croma, the electronics chain owned by the Tata Group, signed a similar agreement with Snapdeal.com last month. Under the partnership, Future Group's current portfolio of over 40 brands will be retailed exclusively online through the Amazon.in platform, the companies said in a statement. Biyani has criticised Flipkart and other e-commerce retailers in India for the deep discounts they offered during a promotional sale for the festival of Diwali, saying it would hurt other retail channels. Amazon.in started its Diwali sale on Oct 10, but did not go with the kind of heavy discounts that Flipkart and Snapdeal.com did last week. Future Group's partnership will extend to categories beyond fashion, and the companies will explore synergies in areas such as distribution, customer acquisition and cross-promotions, the statement said. Indian media reported Biyani met Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos when he was visiting India. Amazon's India website, set up in June last year, operates a marketplace which allows other vendors to sell their products to customers. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Mumbai; Editing by Stephen Coates)