After Bharti, its partner Wal-mart on Thursday said it is planning to invest in establishing backward linkages with suppliers and farmers. A Wal-mart spokesperson said in a statement that a cash-and-carry wholesale operation has the potential to provide much-needed support to small business owners and retailers by selling them quality merchandise at competitive prices.
Bharti announced recently that it would partner existing store-owners through a franchise route and offer employment opportunities to 60,000 people by 2015. Wal-Mart International vice-chairman Mike Duke is on an India visit to discuss the whole-sale cash and carry agreement with Bharti. The entry of retail giants has created a political furore. A spokesperson said that his visit was"routine". "In order to learn more about the market first-hand and to further explore the wholesale cash-and-carry business, Mike Duke, vice-chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, is visiting India this week. No business announcement regarding specific plans will be made during this visit." He stated that the business arrangements with Bharti for wholesale cash-and-carry are still being discussed. "We look forward to partnering with them to build backward linkages with farmers and suppliers through a robust and efficient supply chain."
Duke is expected to meet governemnt officials and Bharti executives in Delhi on Friday. The spokesperson added: "At Wal-Mart, our goal is to help people live better lives and in India we believe that this can be done through a supply chain, which is why we are conducting business studies concerning the feasibility of investing in establishing backward linkages with suppliers and farmers."
"In line with existing guidelines, Bharti Retail has approached us for technology support in the areas of supply chain and back-end technology, all areas where Wal-Mart is recognized as a world leader. At this stage, we are still in preliminary discussions". About its global sourcing programme, the statement says "sourcing from India for our international operations continues to be a growing focus for Wal-Mart. In 2006, we sourced nearly US$ 600 million in goods directly from suppliers in India."
courtesy:economictimes
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