Arkansas-headquartered Walmart is planning a threefold increase in the pace of opening stores by 2020 in India. It plans to open 50 new stores by 2022 to take the total store count to 70.
“We are opening five to seven stores next year. Eventually, we want to open 15 a year, which should happen from 2020,” president and chief executive Krish Iyer said. The firm spends around $12 million per store for an average size of 55,000 square feet, and it has signed up for 19 sites so far. Iyer added that Walmart considered India as a priority market in terms of providing resources to build capacities, back-end infrastructure, and implementing technology.
Walmart inaugurated one of its first global fulfilment centers or ‘dark store’ in India, in an effort to speed up operations in the country. The 45,000 square feet center at Bhiwandi near Mumbai will cater to the business needs of resellers, mom-and-pop grocery stores, offices and institutions through online orders mostly stock packaged consumer products and home supplies.
