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Wal-Mart all set to enter India
By agencies
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Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 19:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Even as the government garners support for FDI in retail trade, the worldÂ’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has started preliminary meetings for its India foray.
Recently representatives of the $288 billion company called on over 10 MNCs in the country, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fritolays, Procter & Gamble, Cadbury, Henkel, Nestle and others to understand how the Indian market operates and what it takes to succeed in the marketplace.
It is said, Wal-Mart representatives wanted to know the buying habits of the Indian consumer, how the companies manage their supply chain and the margins they give out to dealers and retailers.
Apart from this, Wal-Mart is also said to be on the lookout for partners and, therefore, gathering every possible market intelligence it can before its boat touches the Indian shores, it is learnt.
Interestingly, the companies that Wal-Mart officials got in touch with are all global empires, which supply to Wal-Mart wherever they set up operations. In that sense, the meetings were crucial as the comfort level was high which helped the Bentonville retailer understand the nuances of the Indian market.
Unlike the last few trips, Wal-Mart is understood to have met only large MNCs. In the earlier rounds, the representatives had met a range of Indian textile, towel and leather manufacturers who are known to make good quality products at cheaper prices.
However, they were all outsourcing contracts for their international network.
Even before Wal-Mart could enter India, two of the largest retailers Metro of Germany and Shop-Rite of South Africa have set up operations in India. While Metro operates as a wholesale business entity in Bangalore and Kolkata, Shop-Rite has appointed a franchise in Mumbai.