Last updated : December 11, 2017 2:01 pm
Walmart stopped expansion end of 2012 as it has been going through internal probes to check irregularities in this country
By the time it is able to find a local partner and sort the sourcing issues for
opening multi-brand retail stores, e-commerce could give Walmart a strong
footing here. The chain has remained parked in India for seven years in spite
of the odds, a sign that it is still keen on opening brick and mortar
multi-brand stores.
While a company spokesperson referred to the buzz on rolling out an online venture as "rumours and speculationsâ€, Walmart also stated it wanted the government to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce.
"We would like to serve our customers in ways that can help them save money and
live better. Our experiences worldwide support the fact that e-commerce is an
important and growing area that meets our customers' shopping needs,†it went.
The Bentonville-based company has been working on the government for long on
allowing the opening of e-commerce. In August 2013, Scott Price, its Asia
president and chief executive, had written to Finance Minister P Chidambaram
that "several other sectors stand poised for exponential growth and are ripe
for foreign investment, and foremost among them is e-commerceâ€. He had
underscored the potential here, comparing it with China. Walmart has retail
operations in 27 countries and e-commerce portals in 10 of these.
The marketplace e-commerce business is most favoured in India because there's
no government norm limiting foreign investment in this format. This is about
hosting brands or retailers on a portal. The host company is either categorised
as a technology or a back-end entity. Otherwise, FDI is not permitted in e-commerce,
usually identified with an inventory-led model.