Walmart to acquire Carrefour stores in north India

Walmart, which is aggressively pursuing retail expansion of its wholesale stores, is reportedly replacing three of the wholesale

stores set up by French group Carrefour in India with its own. The French retail major had announced its exit from the country in July. KPMG has been helping the French chain sell its assets and exit India.

Sources say the American retail giant has cracked a deal with the land owners, for long-term lease to take up Carrefour stores in Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. For now, Walmart doesn’t have stores in Delhi and Jaipur, but has one in Agra. Besides Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, Carrefour had outlets in Bangalore and Meerut.

The US retail giant operates 20 wholesale stores under the brand 'Best Price' model in India. In April this year, Walmart had announced its plans to open 50 more wholesale stores in the next 4 to 5 years with an aim to expand its India footprint, after parting ways with its India partner – Bharti Enterprises. Walmart also announced its plans of launching an e-commerce platform for its buyers. As per experts, Walmart is making all the right moves since wholesale business or the cash-and-carry format is devoid of FDI restrictions.

It has an advantage of being the most experienced and world’s largest retailer. As the chain would penetrate deeper into smaller towns, it would be able to race ahead of the existing wholesale market as they are not well developed.