Days after it handed Alibaba a record fine over a range of anti-competitive activity including exclusivity deals with merchants, China’s market regulator fined a local foreigner-focused food delivery platform for similar practices, reported Caixin.
On Monday, the Shanghai branch of the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on its official WeChat channel that it had fined Sherpas 3% of its 2018 revenue, or RMB 1.17 million ($178,000).
Established in 1999, Sherpas is one of just a handful of English-language food delivery platforms operating in Shanghai. It connects users with brick and mortar restaurants, who then pay it commissions on orders. It also operates in Beijing and Suzhou.
From January 2017 to October 2019, the regulator found it used its dominant position in the city’s English-language online takeout market to force restaurants into exclusivity deals by making them “pick a side” — the same charge leveled against Alibaba, reported Caixin.