Today a reliable source has given me the first look at the first Bharti-Walmart store in India. The source informed me that the under construction building is next to the Globus mega-mall is the first Walmart. Due to the sensitive issues we and others have discussed with Reliance Fresh, it makes sense Walmart wants to remain low profile as they enter India. Below we have a satellite image of the location of the first Walmart in India:
View Larger Map It’s located next to Globus Stores Pvt Limited, on the corner of Hill Road & Waterfield Road (also known as RK Patkar), Bandra (W), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Below we have exclusive first look pictures of the store. Notice the store is going to look much different than Walmart’s in other countries. Due to the location, it appears Walmart is going for an urban style store with many floors. In fact, according to the Bharti Group Chairman, "… for small and mid-sized retail stores it has to be in city. Very large ones can be outside city.”
Pictures of Walmart India (click to enlarge)
First Walmart India Mumbai Click here to enlarge The Store is behind the Globus Mega-Mall in this picture
First Walmart India Mumbai 2 Click here to enlarge
First Walmart India Mumbai 3 Click here
Walmart India Mumbai Picture 4
Picture Source: Alan R.
Background on Walmart in India
The Bharti-WalMart launch is going to be low key ad without much fanfare due to the aforementioned issues with retail in India. According to Bharti-Walmart the lunch will happen in phases over time and "We will not go for a national launch. It would be in phases similar to our telecom business model," Bharti Group chairman and managing director Sunil Bharti Mittal said.
The Bharti Group has claimed they will invest $2.5b by 2015 in the retail sector while entering into a 50/50 joint venture with Walmart for the cash and carry business. "Bharti will be in the frontline and Wal-Mart in cash and carry," Mittal said, adding that this model is likely to remain till the government eases FDI norms in retail. In the cash and carry business, a company operates like a bulk dealer on behalf of several manufacturers and sells the merchandise to retail traders (quote source dnaindia.com).
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