Walmart India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc, on Monday said it expects to open 20 cash-and-carry stores in the next three years.
The company also opened its second B2B fulfilment centre in India in Lucknow on Monday. Walmart India President & CEO, Krish Iyer said, “We expect to launch two cash-and-carry stores this year. We hope to open eight stores next year and 10 stores in 2020.”
The company currently operates 21 Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores in the country. It had earlier this year said it plans to add 50 cash-and-carry stores in five-six years in India. Talking about expansion in Uttar Pradesh, Iyer said the company has signed an MoU to set up 15 cash-and-carry stores in the state.
Iyer added that the company would gain learnings from the two pilot B2B-fulfilment centres in Mumbai and Lucknow, before plans are finalised for adding more such centres in the country. “Our B2B fulfilment centres will enable us to further strengthen our wholesale business and step up our B2B e-commerce model,” Iyer said.
The company believes its B2B fulfilment centres will help strengthen its non-store or out-of-store sales channels, which include B2B e-commerce, associate-driven sales and call centres. It will also help it reach out to a larger consumer base, which is primarily constituted of kirana stores, hotels, restaurants and other institutional clients.