Phased, low-key launch for Bharti Wal-Mart: Mittal
By Our Corporate Bureau | 18 Sep 2007
Kolkata: According to Bharti Group chairman and managing director, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the launch of its retail venture, for which it partnered US retail giant Wal-Mart, will be a phased, low-key affair, with its launch planned in phases over a period of time, similar to the group's telecom business.
Bharti Enterprises has reportedly planned to invest $2-2.5 billion by 2015 in the retail sector, and has entered into an equal joint venture with Wal-Mart for its wholesale cash-and-carry business. Bharti will handle the front-end retail part of the business on its own.
According to Mittal, Bharti will be in the frontline and Wal-Mart in cash and carry businesses. He expects no changes to this model till the government eases FDI norms in retail.
In the cash-and-carry business, a company operates like a bulk dealer on behalf of several manufacturers, selling merchandise to retail traders.
