Bad news for India, this foreign company no longer interested to open…, but working with suppliers on Rs 860720010000…
Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, in an interview with TOI, stated that the company is no longer focused on the brick-and-mortar retail business in India.
McMillon explained, “That’s not something we are pursuing. We’ve learned that it’s very challenging. Instead, we’re thrilled to have invested in Flipkart.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, on his second visit to India in less than 18 months, on Tuesday reiterated the company’s commitment to sourcing USD 10 billion worth of goods from the country, saying the retail giant is actively working with local suppliers to meet this target by 2027.
McMillon, who has visited India multiple times since becoming the CEO of the Bentonville-headquartered retail giant, said Walmart has increased sourcing from the country over the years, and it is excited with the progress made.
“I have been coming to India for a long time now, many years, and I have made many trips, and what goes through my mind is that there is a story developing that is a bit like a movie,” McMillon said.
“Over the years, the growth story of India is unfolding, and it’s really broadening and becoming much more interesting,” he said.
In December 2020, Walmart had announced a goal to source USD 10-billion products from India by 2027, aiming to boost exports in apparel, food, toys, and other categories.
“At the beginning, we were sourcing products here with limited categories, but we were excited to get started… look what’s happened in our sourcing business.
“It’s grown a lot, and now we have this goal of getting to USD 10 billion a year, which is a really big number, and together with the supplier community, we’re working to achieve that,” he said.
McMillon, who is on a two-day India tour, also had a walk-through here that highlighted Walmart’s India growth story, covering exports, digital innovation, building inclusive supply chains and empowering communities.
Besides, he interacted with some of the sellers, who were trained under its supplier development programme, Walmart Vriddhi.
On its e-commerce arm Flipkart and digital payments solution PhonePe, McMillon said, “What our teams have done to grow those businesses over the years has been inspiring.”
“We are really learning a lot from those businesses, the ability to innovate, the ability to move with speed, the ability to serve more and more customers, to develop sellers, to build an e-commerce marketplace, business that has just a really bright future and the chance to create a lot of opportunities for everyone,” he added.
On PhonePe, McMillon said the financial services businesses, already reaches a lot of people “and helps us make things more efficient easier”.
“We are very proud of what’s happening with the small business… I’m really excited to hear about the work that’s happening with agriculture,” he said.
Last year, Walmart said it had sourced goods worth over USD 30 billion from the Indian market in the last two decades for its global operations. Walmart is in India for over two decades.
Walmart Global sourcing set up office in Bengaluru in 2002, enabling Indian manufacturers to export to the US, Canada, Mexico, central America, and the UK, supplying products to Walmart stores.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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