Word: wal-mart
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...Indian consumers won't be able to partake of Wal-Mart's everyday low prices. India's restrictive commercial laws prohibit most foreign companies from setting up shop to compete with domestic retailers. So Wal-Mart's debut outlet, which will open in the city of Amritsar in northern India later this month, is a wholesale-only operation that will sell mainly to vegetable vendors, hospitals, hotels, restaurants and other companies. The Amritsar outlet won't even carry the familiar Wal-Mart brand. To deflect the attention of politicians and activists who oppose the entry of foreign multi-brand retailers...
...Despite the stealth approach, industry experts expect Wal-Mart, known for squeezing efficiencies out of suppliers and supply chains, to have an impact on India's $375 billion retail market, which is dominated by mom-and-pop businesses and outmoded distribution networks. "We can learn the science of retailing, how to build scale and efficiencies," says Kishore Biyani, chairman of Pantaloon Retail, India's largest homegrown retailer with 114 hypermarkets...
...world's largest retailer isn't new to India. For the past decade, the country has been an important Wal-Mart supplier of textiles, apparel, home products and jewelry. But in anticipation of its India launch, Wal-Mart for the last three years has been developing a network of suppliers to stock its stores with fresh produce and staples like lentils, wheat and rice - all with an appreciation for variations in local cultures and tastes. "India is not a homogenous market, so ours is not a cookie-cutter approach from the U.S.," says Raj Jain, president of Wal-Mart India...
...wholesale operations in India are under a joint venture with New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises. The U.S. company's retail presence is restricted to providing back-end support for Bharti's chain of 25 Easy Day grocery stores that opened last year. (Read how Microsoft is following in Wal-Mart's footsteps...
...Although other foreign hypermarket chains are entering the country - British retail group Tesco has a joint venture with India's giant Tata conglomerate, while France's Carrefour is said to be in talks with Reliance - Jain says Wal-Mart is in no hurry to unfurl the Wal-Mart flag nationally. "The easiest thing is to roll out stores, but the most difficult is to sustain and feed them," he says...