See great value in omni-channel retail with Flipkart acquisition: Walmart India

Walmart India said Tuesday with the acquisition of Flipkart it sees a great value in omnichannel retail, although it will continue to focus on cash and carry business for the brick and mortar format in the country.

Speaking at Retail India Summit and Expo here, Walmart India President and CEO Krish Iyer also claimed that the USD 16 billion deal to acquire Flipkart has triggered "renewed interest" from foreign and domestic investors in India's retail and omni-channel space.

He also said demonetization played an extremely important role in the formalization of an economy and it, along with GST implementation, helped the retail sector grow.

Walmart India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US retail giant Walmart Stores.

"The recent investment in Flipkart shows Walmart is committed to the country...We do see a great value in terms of an omni-channel play in the whole process," he said.

Commenting on the impact of the deal on the Indian retail landscape, Iyer said, "To a certain extent the investment made by Walmart has certainly triggered a lot of interest in the ecosystem".

He further said, "A lot of foreign and domestic investors are looking at retail and omni-channel space with renewed interest".

It is an opportunity for a lot of startup entrepreneurs to come into space and become job creators in the country and create value for themselves as well as for the ecosystem, he added.

When asked about the company's plans in multi-brand retailing, he said, "As far as brick and mortar format is concerned, our focus continues to grow our cash and carry business".

Iyer said the company planned to open 50 cash and carry stores in India in the 4-5 years.

"That is on track. We believe we can add significant value to small mom and pop stores," he added.

At present Walmart, India has 21 cash and carry stores in nine states along with two fulfillment centers in Lucknow and Mumbai.

When asked if the company would continue to explore food retailing in India post-acquisition of Flipkart, he said: "No comments".

Last year, Walmart India had said it is 'evaluating' foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines for the food retail space in India as the Government has permitted 100 percent FDI in the sector.

On demonetization, he said sometimes it "doesn't get the credit it needs to get for a formalization of an economy but demonetization has played an extremely important role in the formalization of the economy".

It along with GST has made a huge impact and helped in driving growth of the retail sector, he added.