Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart‘s plan to crack India’s giant consumer market, compete with Amazon.com Inc., and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries — who has announced plans to launch his own e-commerce initiative — is to collaborate with the neighborhood stores.
Twelve million neighborhood stores across India account for almost 90 percent of the country’s retail sales, and Walmart India is now rolling out a plan to more than double its wholesale chain in India over the next four years — supplying the local store holders instead of competing with them.
Walmart’s Krish Iyer, chief executive of Walmart’s India unit said 26 more of its Best Price wholesale stores were planned by 2023, with each location costing between $8m and $10m. Additionally, another 8 to 10 new sites were being identified each year for after that. Walmart’s strategy allows shopkeepers to see and touch products before purchasing — unlike Amazon — and doesn’t compete with its customers by selling direct to consumers — which Ambani does. “Our members when they come here will not find their customers shopping in the store,” Iyer said. “I will sell only to small resellers.”
The Best Price wholesale business is using the internet to build loyalty among its clients. It’s running a pilot program to help buyers sell goods online to their own customers. Walmart sends out employees with tablet computers to help shopkeepers and even provide free consultations to change the store design to modernize their kirana (small family-owned grocery stores). “This fraternity is wanting to innovate, wanting to digitize, wanting to find new ways of making the business more profitable,” Walmart’s Iyer said. “They’re open to new ideas.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
