Rasul Bailay, The Economic Times New Delhi, October 10, 2013 Wal-Mart Stores, after its break-up with Bharti Enterprises, does not have any immediate plan to get into retailing in the country, making India the only market where the world's largest retailer will limit itself to the wholesale space. Why? Walmart officials in India say the company has found a winning formula in the Best Price Modern Wholesale chain. They even say that the Bentonville, Arkansas-based giant is so bullish on the format that it plans to export the formula to other emerging countries in Africa and Asia. Analysts say focusing…
Vishal Krishna, Businessworld Bangalore, October 10, 2013 When Bharti Enterprises and Walmart signed an agreement to run a cash-and-carry venture, in 2007, it was hailed as one of the most important events in Indian business history. But, for the largest company in the world, the writing was on the wall that its Indian marriage would only work if the policies of the land allowed them to consummate 100 per cent ownership of retail operations at the earliest. Six years later, the marriage of convenience ended because of lack of clarity with India's retail policy. Second, the corruption charges levied on…
[This article appeared in Daily News & Analysis (DNA) on 10 October 2013, under the headline "Without Wal-Mart, can Bharti play it alone?"] A year ago, Wal-Mart had called Bharti its natural retail partner in India. But today the companies have jointly and publicly changed their relationship statuses to “single”, calling off the 6-year old marriage. Bharti will buy out or retire Wal-Mart’s debentures in the 200+ store Easyday retail business, while Wal-Mart in turn will acquire Bharti’s stake in the 20-outlet Bestprice cash-and-carry business. By some estimates, the split was imminent for perhaps a year or longer, as the…
Gardiner Harris , New York Times Mumbai, October 9, 2013 Wal-Mart Stores gave up on India’s huge retailing market Wednesday, announcing that it had indefinitely delayed its once ambitious plans to open hundreds of superstores in its own brand across the country. The announcement adds to the gloom concerning the Indian economy, which has suffered a sharp slowdown and a substantial slide in the value of the rupee in recent months. And it suggests that the government’s efforts to lure more foreign investment have not gone far enough, a blow to the governing United Progressive Alliance. Wal-Mart, an American company…
Nandita Bose, Reuters Mumbai, October 9, 2013 * Wal-Mart to take over existing wholesale business in India * Wal-Mart will need new local partner to open retail stores * Wal-Mart can focus on supply chain for eventual retail entry Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Bharti Enterprises are breaking up their Indian joint venture, leaving the world's biggest retailer to go it alone in a country where it has struggled to build a bigger presence. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, will take over its Indian partner's 50 percent stake in Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt Ltd, which runs 20 wholesale stores under…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
