Walmart defers India plan
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Mumbai: Walmart’s India expansion is stalled. When India announced last September that it would allow foreign supermarket chains to take majority ownership of their local operations, it marked a victory for WalMart stores, which had spearheaded efforts to open the market and said its first retail store would open within two years.
Now, two sources within the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company’s Indian unit say it is unlikely to apply for its first retail store licence before March 2015.
The company has said it needs a further 12 to 18 months after winning government approval to open each store, which means its first retail outlet in the country would open in 2016 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Bharti Enterprises, its local partner in an existing wholesale business, is reconsidering its commitment to their joint venture given the heavy investment requirement and distant prospects for returns, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Bharti denied that it is looking to exit the tie-up and said it remains fully committed to the joint venture, and a Walmart spokeswoman declined to comment on what she called speculation. The delay and faltering partnership mean Walmart may miss out on the “first-mover” advantage.
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