Bharti Wal-Mart Delays Opening India Store
May 27, 2009 – 11:41 amBharti Wal-Mart Pvt. Ltd., a retail joint venture between India’s Bharti Enterprises Ltd. and U.S.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said Monday it has delayed the launch of its first wholesale retail store in the northern Indian city of Amritsar due to violence there.
“Due to the suspension of commercial activity in Amritsar, the Bharti Wal-Mart store opening has been delayed. We will open the store as soon as it (commercial activity) resumes,” a Bharti Wal-Mart spokesman said. The company didn’t provide a new launch date.
Violence erupted in Amritsar late Sunday and other places in Punjab state following clashes between two Sikh groups at a place of worship in Vienna that left one dead and many injured. Punjab is a Sikh-dominated state.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer by sales, and many of its largest competitors long have coveted access to India, which boasts a $300 billion retail industry made up almost entirely of mom-and-pop shops. Indian rules don’t allow multiple-brand retailers such as Wal-Mart to sell directly to consumers, but they can run wholesale operations and provide back-end support to Indian retailers.
The joint venture with Bharti was announced in 2006, but ran into opposition from a key ally of India’s ruling coalition amid fears it might hurt the livelihoods of millions of small shop owners.
The recent federal elections in the country saw a pro-reform ruling party come to power, raising hopes that further economic reforms such as greater foreign investment in the retail sector would be carried out.
Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124323845430551049.html