Bharti Walmart to more than double wholesale stores in India this year

The world's top retailer Wal-Mart's joint venture with Bharti Enterprises in India, Bharti Walmart, is planning to more than double the number of wholesale stores it operates in India by the end of the current year.

Bharti Walmart, which operates the Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in India, plans to add 8 to 10 wholesale stores in 2011, reports quoting its managing director and CEO Raj Jain said.

Bharti Walmart is planning to more than double the number of stores it operates in India, to reach top spot in India in two years' time. India is widely expected to open up its multi-brand retail market to foreign investment in the not so distant future.

Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, plans to invest around Rs380 crore for its expansion in India. The company will open stores in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where it plans to open three  cash-and-carry outlets.

Wal-Mart has been sourcing a variety of products from suppliers in India for more than 20 years. Its office in Bangalore serves as Wal-Mmart's global procurement hub for the sourcing of merchandise from India and Sri Lanka to Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Clubs globally. GP India also manages Global Procurement from Sri Lanka, including quality control/assurance audits and ethical sourcing factory compliance audits in Sri Lanka.

Major categories sourced from India include home textiles (including towels, shower curtains, bath mats, accessories, bedding sheets and kitchen linens), apparel (including woven, knitwear and leather footwear), leather accessories, fine jewelry and house wares (including fine dining ware, home décor and tabletops). The main categories sourced from Sri Lanka are apparel, textiles and gifts.