Amazon couriers in Mumbai, India. Inc. is having a hard time showing it understands the Indian market.The U.S. retail giant has found itself at the center of a social media firestorm twice in just the past few days. First, it was forced to apologize and pull doormats for sale bearing the country’s flag after the foreign minister threatened diplomatic action. Then on Sunday, India’s economic affairs secretary tweeted a stern warning against the American company over flip-flops with pictures of civil rights icon Mahatma Gandhi.Amazon, which has pitched itself as a “local” company, can hardly afford to take such threats lightly. India is its fastest-growing and most crucial foreign market after failing to make headway in neighboring China. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos has committed $5 billion of investment to take on local rivals such as Flipkart.Desist from being flippant about Indian symbols & icons. Indifference will be at your own peril,” India’s secretary for economic affairs, Shaktikanta Das, tweeted in response to the $16.99 flip-flops.
Amazon India didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the footwear, which have since disappeared from its site. The twin incidents are a major embarrassment for a company known for innovative local touches. It’s splurging on Bollywood content for Amazon Prime, recruiting sellers with carts serving “chai” or tea, and linking grocery stores to local buyers for daily essentials. Officer Bezos was scheduled for a photo op with an elephant during his visit in 2014. When Amazon failed to get a permit for the locally revered animal, Bezos jumped onto a colorfully festooned truck clad in an Indian bandhgala jacket instead.It’s flourishes like that that’re helping Amazon close in on its nearest rival, Flipkart Online Services Pvt. It may also be why Indian politicians take offense when Amazon runs afoul of local cultural norms -- even when they occur outside the country.External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was among those who reacted strongly to Indian tri-color doormats on Amazon’s Canadian website.
Demanding the online retailer stop the sale of the product, Swaraj tweeted to seven million followers last week: “If this is not done forthwith, we will not grant Indian Visa to any Amazon official. We will also rescind the Visas issued earlier.” Amazon’s India head Amit Agarwal apologized and the doormats were withdrawn.Das said he was tweeting his personal outrage as a citizen and the country remained committed to economic reforms, easing business and opening trade. “Sometimes get touchy when our icons are involved,” he said on Sunday in his three-part tweet. Sign in or Create an account Why Cape Cod Doormats? Cape Cod Doormats was featured on the Channel 5 news segment Made in Mass. Check out the video under About Us! Our doormats are handwoven and made-to-order just for you. We take pride in the quality of craftsmanship that goes into making our doormats. Please allow 7-10 days for your order to ship. Thank you for visiting our website.
Bluestone & Taupe Shoreline SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERIndia has threatened to cancel Amazon employees’ visas if the online retailer continues to sell doormats with the country’s flag featured. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj issued the threat Wednesday via Twitter, saying that if the product was not removed from Amazon Canada’s website, she would deny visas to Amazon employees and “rescind the visas issued earlier”:SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER Amazon must tender unconditional apology. They must withdraw all products insulting our national flag immediately. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017 If this is not done forthwith, we will not grant Indian Visa to any Amazon official. We will also rescind the Visas issued earlier. “Amazon must tender unconditional apology,” she said. “They must withdraw all products insulting our national flag immediately.” Swaraj called the product “unacceptable” and asked the Indian High Commission in Canada to take the issue with Amazon up to “the highest level.”
Amazon representatives in the United States did not immediately comment on the matter, but a company spokeswoman from India said they needed “time to assess and respond,” CNN reported. Amazon’s customer service team also addressed the issue on one of its Twitter accounts, saying Amazon’s India site never sold the products. “We have escalated this to our concerned teams and are working on the issue,” the tweet said. The doormats of the flag had outraged many people on Amazon’s Canada site, with many people giving the product negative reviews and one-star ratings. “You cannot insult a national flag of India by making a doormat of it,” said one user. “Delete this listing immediately.” It is considered disrespectful in India for the national flag to touch the ground or be printed on clothing or furniture. A spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry said Amazon had already removed the listing. “Our Mission in Ottawa took up the matter with Amazon Canada,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup told the Toronto Star.
“They are no longer selling that item.”LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)-- One local veteran wants a local hardware chain to stop selling doormats with the American flag on them. He believes the mats are disrespectful to the flag that he and many others have fought to defend. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, the doormats have been removed from the sales floor at the Lake St. Louis location of Lowe's. As of around 7 p.m., they were still available at other locations, such as Wentzville and St. Peters. For one local veteran, doormats with the image of Old Glory on them literally violate the old saying, "Don't tread on me." John F. Kelly and his family are no strangers to the United States military. "I'm a Vietnam vet. My father was a former aviator in World War II. So it runs deep. My son is in the Coast Guard presently," said John. John strolled into a Lowe's hardware store near his home in Lake St. Louis, he saw a Memorial Day display that contained doormats with images of the American flag on them, and immediately objected.
"You don't tread on an American flag. You don't wipe dirty boots on them,” said John. “You don't walk on them. That's a patriotic symbol that represents freedom, the country, and the people in it." When John complained to the store manager, he objected even more to their response. "The management of the store basically said this didn't represent the United States or the flag. They said this was "Pop Art" and they could do that. He indicated the intent was not to use it as a doormat, but used as a wall plaque or something like that," he stated. One Lowe's location wouldn't let us shoot video of the Memorial Day display inside the store and referred me to the corporate offices. The doormats came off the display shelf at the Lake St. Louis store Wednesday afternoon, but John believes this is a corporate problem that affects more than one store. "I think they'll continue selling it. Until corporate tells each store or puts a policy out to remove all of these and return them to their vendors," he said.