The joint venture between US retail giant Walmart and Indian company Bharti Enterprises, unsurprisingly named Bharti Walmart, has said the bleak economic outlook will not slow their plans for expansion.
Bharti Walmart is a wholesale cash-and-carry retailer set to open its first ‘business to business’ retail store in the first quarter of the next financial year, according to the Business Standard.
The company is currently building stores in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.
“We will be opening our first store in Punjab between April and June,” said managing director and CEO Raj Jain.
“We are not putting our plans on hold despite market instability. We are fully committed to our long term investments for India.”
Bharti Walmart plans to open 15 stores over the next seven years, employing 5,000 people along the way. The stores will occupy 4,500-9,200m2.
The company has also joined up with the Punjab government to establish the Bharti Walmart Skill Centre in Amritsar, a vocational training school for unemployed youth.
“This skill centre will provide training to the youth to hone their technical skills regarding modern retail and allied sectors like logistics, supply chain and other support services,” a government spokesperson said.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the wholesaler and the Punjab government.
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