By Mike Scarcella

Dec 12 (Reuters) – Online retailer Zulily has sued Amazon.com AMZN.O in Seattle federal court, accusing the e-commerce giant of working to “destroy” it through a price-fixing scheme that forced Zulily to abandon its discount sales strategy.

Seattle-based Zulily’s lawsuit, filed on Monday, alleged Amazon took steps to curb retail price competition in violation of U.S. and state antitrust laws.

Zulily said its suppliers were concerned about being punished by Amazon over pricing, and so told Zulily to keep prices “as high” as those on Amazon.

“Zulily, an online retailer dedicated to offering consumers low prices, is one of Amazon’s victims,” the complaint said.

An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request for comment.

Amazon is already facing an array of antitrust lawsuits from consumers and other plaintiffs, including California, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC’s lawsuit in September, which accused Amazon of abusing its market power, pointed to Zulily to bolster the agency’s claims. Zulily, which was acquired by private investment firm Regent in May, sells toys, clothes and homewares.

Amazon last week asked the Seattle court to dismiss the FTC’s case, saying the agency had not shown any consumer harm to “common retail practices.”

Attorneys for Amazon said in a court filing that the company “promptly matches rivals’ discounts, features competitively priced deals rather than overpriced ones, and ensures best-in class delivery for its Prime subscribers.”

Attorneys for Zulily at Bona Law did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Zulily, founded in 2009, was preparing to close its doors, according to news media reports last week. A message on the company’s website said all sales after Dec. 8 were final.

In its lawsuit, Zulily alleged Amazon’s “exclusionary conduct” caused the company to discard the “best price promise” at the heart of its business strategy and growth plans.

The complaint accused Amazon of “bullying” and said its “market power over merchants has only grown because merchants require access to Amazon’s vast customer network.”

Zulily said it was seeking triple damages that included “substantial revenue losses and reduced traffic” to its website.

The case is Zulily Inc v. Amazon.com Inc, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, No. 2:23-cv-01900.

For Zulily: Jon Cieslak, James Lerner and Molly Donovan of Bona Law

For Amazon: No appearance yet

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(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)

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Original: AMZN Feed: Online retailer Zulily sues ‘bullying’ Amazon in antitrust lawsuit