If you sit idle in Walmart’s office for more than 20 seconds, motion sensors in the room automatically shuts down the lights in the room. The technology is one of the things Walmart has deployed to save costs as it charts out its future course in a tough Indian market.

“The cost savings help us to offer the best price for our customers. We make sure that our operations are focussed on bringing best quality products for customers,” said Krish Iyer, President and CEO, Walmart India in an interview with Business Line.

Iyer, who completes a year as Walmart’s India head in January, has mapped out the blue print for the company’s game plan in the country. The focal point of this plan is Iyer’s decision to focus on expanding operations in 9-10 States in India giving a miss to States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The company, which has completed 5 years in the country, has so far rolled out 20 stores and plans to to set up another 30 stores in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

“We have made up our mind to focus on just a few States. There are 12-13 States account for 80 per cent of GDP. We also looked at the ease of doing business and some States are still not there,” Krish Iyer, President and CEO, Walmart India told Business Line.

On one hand Walmart wants to strengthen its presence in States like Uttar Pradesh by opening a second store in Agra, on the other hand it plans to move into new markets like Gujarat. “We have identified locations wheres traditional retailers are high in number and they need a cash and carry player like us. We are exploring to enter Gujarat early 2015,” Iyer said.

Walmart had started operations in India in 2009 in partnership with Bharti Retail. However the first four years have been tumultuous with uncertainty over regulations governing foreign investments in retail. This forced the company to abandon its initial plans to venture into retail stores and move into the cash and carry format wherein it acts as a supplier to smaller retail players. The format has worked well for the company with as many as 15,000- 20,000 retail members linked to each of its store on an average. “The Indian operation has been an inspiration for Walmart’s operations,” said Iyer.

At a time when other retail giants like Carrefour have pulled out of India, Walmart is playing the waiting game. Its biggest bet is on the Government opening up the FDI in retail which will allow it to start selling directly to consumers. But for now the US company is focussed on the cash and carry business. It is opening its 21st store in the country in the same location in Agra where Carrefour had set up an outlet.

The other big focus is to expand its business-to-business e-commerce platform to all its existing stores by November 2015. This allows retailers to buy products online instead of visiting Walmart’s physical stores. Walmart has started taking online supply orders from retailers in 5 locations and plans to extend the facility to 16 other stores. “e-commerce is now five months old and we are enthused by the response. It takes some time to really educate customers from tier 2 and 3 towns but once they understand the benefits they enjoy the experience,” Iyer said. Iyer, who will complete a year as Walmart India head in January, expects 20 per cent of member retailers to start using the e-commerce platform.

But the company is not looking to enter the consumer space even in the e-commerce platform any time soon. “ Globally, e-commerce is a small percentage of retail. Brick n mortar retail store has the majority share because consumers value in-store experience. Internet is changing things there is no doubt about that but it will not replace in-store sales,” he said.

Even as the company is making the best of its operations, Walmart hopes that the Government backs the retail sector. Other than opening up the FDI norms, Iyer said that the Government can drive domestic consumption by driving retail growth. “The new Government has a big focus on administrative reforms. It will start showing results in some time. I feel encouraged by a very market driven, consumer driven policies of the govt,” Iyer said.

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