The Hindu Business Line : ‘Bharti model will help small traders better their business’

New Delhi, Aug. 6 After assisting his elder brother Mr Sunil Mittal in setting up the country’s largest cellular company, Mr Rajan Mittal has now emerged to spearhead Bharti’s retail venture. Business Line caught up with him to know his views on the alliance with Wal-Mart.

Would your experience in telecom help in running the new retail business?

We would like to replicate the success that we have had in telecom in Bharti Retail. The experience that we have had in understanding the needs of our telecom consumers over the past decade would help us in offering the best retail experience in this country. Not just telecom, we would also derive synergy from our agri business, which we can look at for sourcing for the domestic market, though at present it is export-oriented.

With so many large corporates entering the retail segment, how different would Bharti Retail be? Will pricing be a key differentiator?

While pricing will be a key factor, it will not be the only thing in enhancing consumer experience.

Just like in telecom, along with tariffs there are a lot of factors such as customer interface, the product and the infrastructure that will make Bharti’s retail different from others in the business.

Reliance has announced an investment of over $6 billion while you are investing only $2.5 billion. Would that be enough to be the number one?

The market is huge and there is space for everyone. Besides, we have always said that the investments can be scaled up as and when required.

There have been many questions raised on your partnership with Wal-Mart. Do you foresee any political trouble in this regard going forward? What if there is litigation?

We are compliant with all the laws of the country. The cash ’n carry business permits 100 per cent FDI and in this case it is only 50 per cent so where is the issue of any litigation?

If the Government has any concerns we are prepared to address them. I am not aware of any political issue in this regard.

What about objections from small traders and kirana shop owners?

I am not aware of any such objections but I can tell you that there is some misunderstanding. In fact, our business model will help small traders and kirana shop owners to better their businesses.

If the FDI laws change to permit foreign investment in the retail segment, what would be the status of your partnership with Wal-Mart?

While it is too early to comment on such an eventuality, I would say that the natural course of action would be to have Wal-Mart as a strategic partner in our retail business.

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