Walmart appears to have decided to streamline its business in India. It has folded the Walmart India arm into its acquired homegrown entity – Flipkart. The Indian e-tailer has acquired a 100% stake in Walmart India, which operates the ‘Best Price’ cash-and-carry wholesale stores in the country.
In its place, Flipkart has launched a new marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale. The aim of this venture is to help transform the kirana ecosystem in India. The company says that it will leverage its homegrown technological innovations and vast supply chain infrastructure to enable the growth of kirana shops and MSMEs.
Flipkart Wholesale will debut its services in August next month, piloting with the grocery and fashion segment. These are the two most lucrative sections right now and the company is looking to provide small business and kirana shops a significant value proposition.
The Flipkart Wholesale arm will be led by Flipkart’s SVP Adarsh Menon. The current CEO of Walmart India Sameer Aggarwal will help with the transition process and then move to a different role at the company. “With the launch of Flipkart Wholesale, we will now extend our capabilities across technology, logistics, and finance to small businesses across the country,” asserted Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy in an official statement.
Talking about finance, the company stated that businesses will also be able to benefit from Flipkart’s easy credit options and other similar initiatives. This will present an opportunity for new income generation and help catalyze growth for these businesses/ kirana shops. Walmart India currently has over 1.5 million members, including kirana shops, horecas, and other MSMEs.
If you didn’t already know, Flipkart has been around for over 13 years. It has built a strong leadership and an understanding of what the Indian consumer’s needs are. It was possibly this insight that led to its acquisition by Walmart a couple of years ago. The American giant picked up a 77 percent controlling stake in Flipkart to take the fight back to its arch-rival Amazon in India.
