Bharti Retail could drop Wal-Mart tag

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New Delhi, Feb 20: The Wal-Mart brand may not come to India anytime soon. Bharti Retail, with which the US retail giant has tied up for its India entry, may not use the Walmart name for its front-end retail stores. Mike T Duke, vice chairman, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, dropped enough hints about it when he said: “three-fourths of our international business earnings are under 52 local brands across the globe. We want to be seen as local retailers serving the needs of the local people in an area.”

However, Rajan Bharti Mittal, managing director, Bharti Enterprises, said the final rollout plans of the retail and cash and carry stores would be made in April, and brand names for the retail and cash and carry stores would be announced then. Mittal did not confirm whether the stores would sport the Wal-Mart name.

Sources say the forced closure of Reliance Retail in UP might have prompted Bharti to rework its branding strategy, and drop the Wal-Mart name to avoid any negative brand perception.

Duke said the international business division (catering to non-US markets) of Wal-Mart clocked a turnover of $90 billion in the fiscal year ended January 31.