Walmart bullish on India, to open 50 stores by 2020

With 21 cash and carry stores in India at the moment, American retail major Walmart is bullish on India. After parting ways with Bharti, the company is busy expanding its reach focusing on wholesale cash and carry business in the country. As Krish Iyer, President and CEO of Walmart India says, while helping promoters of the small and medium enterprises, kirana stores, hotels, restaurants, the company is successfully on its way to have 50 stores by 2020.

However, as far as advent of ecommerce is concerned, he says online ventures in India are only behind building valuations without really bothering about the bottomline, which is unlike in other South East Asian markets. He says that while businesses in countries like Taiwan, Thailand and Philippines have adopted ecommerce in a big way, they have a clear focus on the bottomline.

He appreciates the current government’s focus on ‘Make in India’ as well as initiatives like Startup India, Digital India and skill development in small cities, which according to him are of prime importance. The latest Goldman Sachs report clearly outlines that India can deliver 8 percent growth over the next five years driven by technology, 300 million new internet users, and the focus on ease of doing business, among others. And he says that even state governments are investing a lot of time in creating business-friendly atmosphere.