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Anjali Prayag

Bangalore , Dec. 19

Suppliers to the Bharti-Wal-Mart retail stores in the country will eventually be tapped for Wal-Mart stores across the globe. "We would like to leverage our global scale to transform these suppliers into exporters with access to our global markets over time," Ms Beth Keck, Director, International Corporate Affairs, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. told Business Line. In 2005, Wal-Mart directly sourced $414 million worth of merchandise from its global procurement hub in India.

Commenting on whether the global retail giant could shake the firm ground on which `neighbourhood stores' businesses are built in India — credit, home delivery and personalised service — Ms Keck said, "Small shops with personal service have strong loyalties and fill an important market segment. They render a very personalised service, providing home deliveries at all hours of the day and night, and allowing their regular customers to buy on credit at little or no extra cost." But, the Indian retail industry is large enough to accommodate many more players, she added.

However, it's also true that the back-end here needs to be streamlined and there are `substantial inefficiencies in the supply chain, with a large number of intermediaries driving prices up,' according to Ms Keck.

Wal-Mart could lend its expertise here as improvements in the fresh foods supply chain will reduce wastage and result in a better value for both consumers and farmers. "This will also enable suppliers to compete on the international market," Ms Keck said.

She, however, refused to comment on the different formats the Bharti-Wal-Mart venture would take in India, terming it, "still in early days of discussion."

More Stories on : Retailing | Exports & Imports | Outlook | Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd

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