Walmart India To Set Up 15 Stores In 5 Years

[psycopk]

Walmart India to set up 15 stores in 5 years

Following Chief Minister’s meeting with David Cheesewright, president and CEO of Walmart International, at the World Economic Forum in Davos recently, Krishna Iyer, president and CEO of Walmart India met Chief Minister Sri N. Chandrababu Naidu at Secretariat today.

Mr Iyer informed the Chief Minister that Mr Cheesewright had written to him to meet the Chief Minister and unveil Walmart India's plans for Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Iyer thanked the Chief Minister for introducing the single-desk policy and 21-day clearance plan and said that it will make the investment environment conducive in the state, attracting more investors.

He added that Walmart is planning to open 15 cash-and-carry stores in the next 5 years. The company currently has three stores in Andhra Pradesh in Vijayawada, Guntur and Rajahmundry.

Mr. Iyer added that the company’s plan is to have wholesale stores in every district. He added that Walmart is also keen on investing in social and rural entrepreneurship through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Stating that the company wants to focus on creating women leaders for empowerment in the society, Mr Iyer said that they intend to build skills of DWCRA women in the state.

Responding to Mr Iyer’s plans, the Chief Minister said that Walmart could also explore setting up of cold-chain facilities and work on backward integration of agriculture.

Explaining the state’s strength in agriculture, the Chief Minister told Mr. Iyer that the company could choose 20-30 agriculture commodities which the state tops in and market them through Walmart. “You can focus on value addition and marketing while the government will work on the processes,” the Chief Minister told Mr. Iyer.

“Given that Walmart is the world leader in retail, you can suggest the best practices the company incorporates in different countries which we can implement locally, in our state,” the Chief Minister said.

Stating that ICRISAT and NABARD are working with the state government in the Primary Sector Mission to make agriculture profitable and sustainable, the Chief Minister sought a commodity-wise action plan from Walmart that could list the best practices from across the world.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister added that the state government could also earmark certain areas from which the agriculture commodities could be procured. “You could focus on rice, cashew, mango, palm oil, banana, peanuts, tomato, potato, coconut, maize, red gram, marine products, Citrus products, eggs, dairy products, papaya and others,” he added.

On social and rural entrepreneurship, the Chief Minister said that Walmart could also identify products made by DWCRA women and brand and market them through the company. “This can include skill upgradation and training and also in making women set up small shops which make them rural entrepreneurs and financially independent,” he added.