Despite the US economy slowdown, the Bharti Wal-Mart joint venture plans to start its business-to-business (B2B) wholesale cash-and-carry stores in Punjab in the first quarter of 2009. The managing director and CEO of Bharti Wal-Mart India Pvt Limited, Raj Jain, said that despite the difficulties of economic meltdown, there was no change in the plans and the stores will be rolled out from Punjab.
Talking to FE, Jain said, ?We are committed to start this venture of carrying out wholesale stores and we have already opened a distribution centre near Chandigarh which will cater to facilities located within the distance of 100-150 km. If need arises then more distribution centres will be opened. The distribution centres will service both the cash-carry stores as well as large retails like Bharti Retail. Besides, we have already announced membership registration for self-service cash and carry stores by bonafide business owners in Punjab and between 50,000-60,000 owners are expected to get registered.?
A typical cash-and-carry store will stand between 50,000 to 100,000 sq ft and will sell a wide range of fruits, vegetables, groceries, footwear, clothing and other merchandise items. The joint venture is expected to open 10-15 stores in seven years and will employ over 5,000 people.
Replying to a query, Jain said, ?Soaring real estate prices, which have severely hit the operations of retail sector and despite the stagnancy in the real estate sector, prices have failed to come down. But we are expecting that a correction will take place and prices will come down significantly in coming six months which will help in executing our plans.?
