Walmart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, is keen to
open retail stores in the country with the government allowing foreign investment
(FDI) in multi-brand segment.
The company currently operates a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with the Bharti Group for wholesale cash and carry.
In response to a query on whether Walmart would be interested to
enter the front-end retailing in India, Walmart India president Raj Jain said: "Of course, that's the whole idea. We are in wholesale at present, and now that FDI in multi-brand retail is allowed, we are definitely interested in it."
The retailer, however, says it would have to study the policy fully and evaluate before finalising its future course of action.
Currently,
Walmart's JV with the Bharti Group - Bharti Walmart - runs 17 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in different parts of the country. The JV is expected to open a total of 12-15 such stores in India this year.
Bharti Walmart is a major supplier to Bharti Retail, which runs more than 205 retail stores in different formats under the Easyday brand.
"By being 'stores of the community', we will also help them live better. We are willing and able to invest in back-end infrastructure that will help reduce wastage of farm produce, improve livelihood of farmers, lower prices of products and ease supply-side inflation," Jain added.
Meanwhile, Swedish home furnishings major Ikea has said it will open stores in the country only after the government approves its application in entirety although sourcing norms for FDI in single-brand retail have been diluted.
The government on Friday tweaked the sourcing norms for FDI exceeding 51 per cent in single-brand retail and diluted the previous condition of sourcing 30 per cent of requirements from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India by stating that sourcing should be done preferably from MSMEs.
With inputs from PTI
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