Walmart India launched its first fulfillment centre in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The fulfillment centre is a new format of its cash-and-carry store model that will focus exclusively on FMCG products and staples and will not stock fresh food or electronics.
“While a full-fledged cash-and-carry store will take us about two-and-a-half years to open, the fulfillment centre in Mumbai came up within 60 days of us signing the agreement for the land,” Krish Iyer, President and CEO, Walmart India, told BusinessLine . Operations at the outlet have been outsourced to KD Logistics, a first for Walmart. The store in Bhiwandi, on the outskirts of Mumbai, is spread over a four-acre plot.
Cash-and-carryWhile Walmart is still restricted by laws that disallow multi-brand retail in India, the company has focused its efforts in building cash-and-carry (wholesale) stores across key locations. These stores, now numbering at 21, are for registered resellers and kirana store owners who want to buy goods in bulk and for cheap. Iyer said the company is planning another fulfillment centre in Lucknow.