Despite much hype around its proposed entry into India, US supermarket giant Walmart may not be hugely successful in India due to its format, opined a panel.
“The success of Walmart depends upon its willingness to customise itself in the Indian market as against implementing a similar approach practiced in their western countries,” said Dev Amritesh, COO Dunkin Donuts India, during a panel discussion on ‘What will work or not work in Indian market’ at the ISB leadership Summit about Walmart.
According to marketing experts, Walmart’s large format stores will not click because of lack of affordable land in Indian cities and also due to Indians’ aversion to travel long distances to shop.
While this could be a breather for unorganised retailers, Amritesh feels that Walmart might click in India in about two years, if it makes necessary changes in their business plans by customising their format for the country.
As per the estimates of Assocham, the contribution of both organised and unorganised retail stood at 22 per cent of GDP.
This would mean that Indian retail sector size should measure closer to `19,20,000 crore in 2012-2013.
Walmart is one of the key foreign supermarket chains, which has been actively lobbying with the US government to convince India to open up its market — one of the largest in the world — to foreign players.
Source:DC
Post a Comment