Although SA's top anti-trust watchdog's steps to level the playing fields on online retail platforms are in line with measures introduced in Europe and elsewhere, it could be overreaching by interfering with the operations of some companies, including Takealot.
This is the view of some analysts, who questioned parts of a Competition Commission's report on Monday that, for example, called for SA's largest e-commerce site, Takealot, to segregate two of its divisions to avoid a conflict of interests. This would mean separate executive teams and the body, which was dictating how companies structure their management, may even find itself the subject of a challenge because of this.
At the same time, some of the recommendations are necessary to encourage greater competition and should be welcomed as necessary tools to encourage it, analysts said.
The commission wants SA's largest e-commerce companies to make significant changes to encourage competition from smaller digital operators.
