WAL-MART opens first outlet in India

Planet Retail 1 Jun 2009

Wal-Mart has opened its first wholesale outlet in the northern city of Amritsar, Punjab on Saturday. The Best Price Modern Wholesale store is a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises and offers 6,000 products, 90% of which are sourced locally. According to a company statement, the venture plans to open 10 or 15 wholesale outlets and employ 5,000 people during the next three years.

Following earlier announcements, Bharti Enterprises Vice Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Bharti Mittal said: "This is a beginning and we will come up with 15 more stores in the next three years. We have already tied up with 30,000 retailers and 8,000 suppliers and expect more to join us. About 80% of our suppliers are from Punjab, we will set up our next store in Ludhiana. Each store will require about USD7 million. This does not include the land price." In addition, the Amritsar store, spread across 929 square metres, will provide 200 direct and 500 indirect jobs.

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