Just after a day of officially announcing the $16 billion dollar deal in India’s largest e-commerce unicorn Flipkart, Walmart Inc on Thursday has said that it will continue to grow its wholesale cash-and-carry business by adding 50 new stores in the next four-five years.
US mammoth Walmart which so far had been handicapped by India’s retail policy that does not allow overseas companies to sell directly to consumers will now have an online presence, all thanks to Flipkart.
Walmart India President and CEO Krish Iyer said,
We currently have 21 stores and plan to open 50 stores in 4 to 5 years. Plans are on track. We have a pipeline of 20 stores and we expect to open 5 stores in the current year and then pick up the pace and eventually start opening 12-15 stores a year.
Meanwhile, Doug McMillon Walmart’s CEO has informed that Flipkart would continue to operate as a separate board-managed company with co-founder Binny Bansal as the CEO.
Walmart is presently operational in 9 states and 19 cities while its future expansion is being focused on more or less the same geographies.
Douglas further added, “We are not spreading thin. We are continuing in same geographies but primarily focus is on Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.”
Walmart sells a wide plethora of items right from fast moving consumer goods to furniture at its Best Price wholesale stores. These stores might get potentially used by the company as pickup and delivery points to service online sales made on Flipkart.