Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart‘s two acquisitions in India — e-commerce firm Flipkart and digital payments firm PhonePe — have emerged stronger with the adoption of digital technologies during the coronavirus health crisis in India. The company also operates a small chain of “wholesale stores” in India, which sell to the retail trade.
Doug McMillon, CEO and president, Walmart said, “In India, our momentum and potential for growth (e-commerce) make this a unique opportunity. E-commerce penetration is still low, but growing rapidly. We’re well-positioned to grow as an emerging middle class spends more money through their mobile phones. Like the U.S. and Mexico, this (India) is a market where we’ll step on the gas to ensure we have the appropriate level of investment in areas like supply chain.” The market opportunities for online commerce in the country are expected to reach $200 billion by 2028 from $30 billion in 2018.
Last July, Walmart led a $1.2 billion round in Flipkart, valuing the e-commerce firm at $24.9 billion. PhonePe recently raised $700 million in primary capital at a post-money valuation of $5.5 billion from the existing Flipkart investors, including Tiger Global, led by Walmart. Both the companies are now planning to go public in the U.S. in the next one or two years.
