Walmart, high ceilings, massive trolleys and every product you can think of – on a recent trip to Seattle I learnt that Walmart even sells guns! Marian Fishman writes in her blog post titled Walmart monster in Costa Rica that introducing Walmart into Costa Rica will push many local business into bankruptcy. After reading the blog post, I remembered that I went to a Best Price wholesale store during my last visit to India in late 2011. Best Price is a wholesale store for small businesses which is owned by a join venture between Walmart and Bharti Enterprises. Currently, there are 17 of these wholesale stores and when I entered the warehouse, it definitely had a ‘Walmart feel’ to it with high ceilings and incredibly long isles.
Best Price in India
Recently, there has been news that Walmart will be introducing retail stores in India. The Indian Government has now eased the restrictions on foreign ownership of stores, allowing overseas supermarkets to own as much as 51 percent in local ventures. However, just as Marian said in her blog, this will cause local businesses to flop. Those that are against Walmart retail stores entering India say that if Walmart is allowed to come, the employment crisis in India will worsen. However, it must be noted that the rules of the new foreign ownership agreement may actually benefit smaller businesses. The rules state that the foreign retailers must improve supply chain infrastructure and must srouce 30% of manufactured goods from local businesses. Perhaps, from a slightly different perspective, introducing Walmart may benefit the welfare of smaller businesses in India. We’ll have to wait and see…
Articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/walmart-india_n_1903474.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-21/wal-mart-in-talks-with-bharti-after-india-eases-rules.html