The world's largest retailer said that its goal in India is to establish a relationship with the small business community and helping them lower costs and increase profits.
The Bharti Group will on Monday announce a tie-up with Walmart for its retail operations, under which the world's largest retailer would manage the back end operations.
The issue of foreign direct investment in retail came to haunt the government again in Parliament with a united Opposition demanding an inquiry and reply from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on reports of Wal-Mart spending huge money to lobby for entry into the Indian market.
Global retail giant Wal-Mart is expected to source $1.2 billion worth of goods from factories and suppliers in India during 2005.
Improved investment climate and a more liberal foreign direct investment regime have made India the top destination for global retail giants like Wal-Mart, Benetton and Tesco
Middle-class Indian consumers should, of course, sit back and watch the action on the shop floor.
'It is a breathtaking journey towards the Tibet border, especially since the Border Road Organisation has accomplished a fabulous feat in black-topping the road till the border.' 'One is left with a salute for the dauntless Indian soldiers who spend the winter in these majestic, though inhospitable areas (we were told that the temperature comes down to minus 40 in winter),' recounts Claude Arpi.
Coming under flak by the Left parties for Wal-Mart's entry into the Indian retail market, Bharti Enterprises on Friday said its tie-up with the US firm was "as per the guidelines".
The retail industry witnessed robust top-line growth for the greater part of the previous financial year, but demand has started to show signs of fatigue seen in the January-March quarter (fourth quarter, or Q4) of 2022-23 (FY23), especially in the apparel and innerwear segments. Jewellery, however, has managed to hold on to demand in the quarter. "In the discretionary space, demand moderation in urban markets is expected to impact the quick-service restaurant and apparel categories the most, while paint, luggage, and jewellery should see resilient growth," Systematic Institutional Equities observed in its preview of the sector.
The US Department of Justice is investigating whether Wal-Mart paid bribes in Mexico to obtain permits to open new stores there, and whether executives covered up an internal inquiry into the payments.
Retail giant Walmart and Bharti have decided to part ways.
Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt Ltd, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and retail giant Wal-Mart, opened its first cash-and-carry (wholesale) store in India at Amritsar.
Wal-Mart defers launch of its first Indian store
SBI Card on Monday launched a co-branded card in association with leading retail chain Vishal Mega Mart to tap the booming organised retail market that is pegged to hit Rs 1,09,000 crore (Rs 1090 billion) by 2010.
Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday announced an additional Rs 20,000-crore investment for West Bengal over the next three years. Ambani said the fresh investment will be in the areas of digital life solutions, retail and bio-energy.
"We have examined the Bharti-Wal-Mart joint venture and everything is in conformity with the existing policy on FDI in retail," high-level sources in the commerce and industry ministry said.
Tapping customers to deliver goods would put the world's largest retailer squarely in middle of a new phenomenon sometimes known as 'crowd-sourcing,' or the 'sharing economy.'
With his Mumbai sojourn,Wal-Mart Vice-Chairman Michael Duke gave enough signals that Wal-Mart is testing waters before it actually enters the organised retail in India.
The retail major will directly source more than $600 million worth of goods this year.
Global retail major Wal-Mart's entry into India through an alliance with Bharti Enterprises could change the market dynamics, but domestic player Pantaloon Retail India Ltd appears game to take on the competition.
The RBI has also referred alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act to the Directorate of Enforcement for investigation in regard to both Bharti Wal-Mart and e-commerce venture Flipkart Online Services.
It's certainly not the way the world' s largest retailer would have wanted to enter India. But it's nonetheless a turning point for the Indian retail market.
Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores will hire over 22,000 people this year, a move that will bring cheer to the country's strained labour market grappling with rising unemployment woes.
Mike Duke (left), senior vice president, Wal-Mart, and Sunil Bharti Mittal, president CII and chairman & group CEO, Bharti Enterprises, pose for a photo during the US-India Business Council luncheon in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
Madurai-based JVS Exports on Thursday said it has been recognised as the 'International Supplier for 2004' by US retail giant Wal-Mart.
The Wal-Mart President said having travelled to India a number of times, he "really feels for the people of India because the people of India are missing on the opportunity right now because of the inefficiencies of the supply chain and so many of the challenges."
John B Menzer, president and CEO of Wal-Mart International, today met Prime Minister Manmohan Si
Mani said the company was planning to organise three more such events by the end of 2006.
Wal-Mart's heir John Walton died on Monday as the plane he was flying crashed near Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 struck Faridabad in Haryana at 4.08 pm on Sunday, the National Centre for Seismology said.
In October, Wal-Mart called off its six-year-old partnership with Bharti Enterprises and decided to operate wholesale stores independently in India.
There are allegations that Wal-Mart put money into the domestic multi-brand retail chain despite a ban.
China has warned Wal-Mart not to take 'revengeful measures' against some of their local employees who have set up four trade unions over the past 10 days.
Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt Ltd, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and retail giant Wal-Mart, opened its first cash-and-carry (wholesale) store in India at Amritsar in Punjab on Sunday.
Welspun USA's e-commerce plans comes at a time when only 3-5 per cent of home textile sales in the US is ordered over the Internet. The New York-based company is targeting the mid to upper end of the American home textile market, pegged around $15-17 billion. A couple of established retailers such as JC Penny have built the online retail model over the last decade.
And the apparel units in Kinfra Park are working hard to be in the good books of Wal-Mart
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