Wal-Mart world big shop now in India

 

India will open the country’s retail industry to foreign supermarkets, Food Minister KV Thomas told reporters today, a much delayed reform expected to help unclog supply bottlenecks and ease inflation over time.

The government has decided to allow 51 percent foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector and also decided to raise the cap on foreign investment in single-brand retailing to 100 percent from 51 percent, Thomas added.

The decision will be cheered by global retail giants such as Wal-Mart that have long been eyeing India’s lucrative retail sector worth an estimated $450 billion a year.

The world’s largest retail group, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and its rivals see India’s retail sector as one of the last frontier markets, where a burgeoning middle-class still shops at local, family-owned merchants.

Allowing foreign retailers to take stakes of up to 51 percent in supermarkets would attract much-needed capital from abroad and ultimately help unclog supply bottlenecks that have kept inflation stubbornly close to a double-digit clip.

Efforts to liberalise the sector, perceived as politically risky ahead of elections next year in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, have been hampered by the government’s political opponents and sections of the ruling coalition itself.

Millions of small retail traders vigorously oppose competing with foreign giants, potentially providing a lightning rod for criticism of the ruling Congress party ahead of crucial state elections next year.

About Wal-Mart

Walmart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 9826 retail units under 60 different banners in 28 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Walmart employs 2.1 million associates worldwide.

A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Walmart ranked in the top ten among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2010 Most Admired Companies survey.

Walmart was founded in 1962, with the opening of the first Walmart discount store in Rogers, Ark. The company incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., on Oct. 31, 1969. The company's shares began trading on OTC markets in 1970 and were listed on the New York Stock Exchange two years later.

The company grew to 276 stores in 11 states by the end of the decade. In 1983, the company opened its first Sam’s Club membership warehouse and in 1988 opened the first supercenter -- now the company’s dominant format -- featuring a complete grocery in addition to general merchandise. Walmart became an international company in 1991 when it opened its first Sam's Club near Mexico City