I am not sure why bring wal-mart to india in the first place. They are not bringing in any new technology or process that we dont know of. If we are getting fighter planes from foreign countries, that is, they want to set-up manufacturing base in india, that makes sense, as we dont have the technology to do so at this moment. So we can leverage by using their presence, but wal-mart is basically a grocery store, or a produce market or however you wanna call it. What value addition that brings that we dont already ahve in the first place?. You call the stores shanmuga stores, gupta mart or walmart stores (based on sam walton) what difference does it make, our players themselves can use better supply chain and better distribution practices trhough internal competition, than bringing someone from outside. We see mushrooming of mall type stores and big stores in india itself now and we see that prices are falling down due to better dist and competition and also at the same time buy-all-at-one-place is happening. So why bring wal mart, when we can do the same ourselves.
When private companies are able to do retailing at a bigger level, the size equivalent of our whole retail market, why can't the government start such big retail markets?Like BSNL, which is owned by government A similar model was introduced in Tamilnadu long back in Mr.M.Karunanidhi's regime ,Uzhavar Santhai meaning Farmer's Market.But because of political situations they were shut off. Such kind of markets are happening on a particular day of the week in the rural areas. The only problem is organizing this business model and enforcing tax income. If Central government initates such big retail shops across the country, with the same standards and prices,with the local supplier chain,everyone will be benefited. After all, we have come to this level after 50 years of freedom by "self-sustaining". Don't repeat the same mistake which kings did hundreds of years back!Remember, British came to India only for commerce, then we knew what happened. Walmart kind of retailers might operate in economically advanced country like US or Europe. But Still everyone in this country is not economically independent.Remember all our farmers and rural people are there!
What are these people saying here.... walmart will be competing against indian local cos.... but the bulk of their products will come from china.... not india go figure. With its enormous buying power it can easily undercut competetion out of existance bully the local manufacturers to surrender... u cannot expect better labor standards, better life styles for walmart employees or those who buy from it because that is part of walmart business model. for a few billion dollars worth of FDI we will lose a great deal... a totally penny wise pound foolish move I would say.
The unnecessary emphasis on food items in retail takes away the focus on the most important things for the consumer - quality and variety of other retail stuff. I have been living in one of the most advanced cities in the world (Singapore) for more than 8 years and I can assure you that despite Carrefour and others, the local "wet market", where one gets fresh vegetables and other food items, thrive very well.
Let us look at other things like furniture, kitchen-ware, bathroom fittings, tools, stationery etc. Here is where the Indian shops and mega-chains fare rather badly. The example of "China shops" should serve as a warning. Instead of selling good quality China-made stuff, these stores sell sub-standard Indian-made products, thereby creating a totally false imperession that China-made products are inferior.
Unless the populace is made aware of the quality and variety of goods available elsewhere (at far better prices compared to India), no amount of retail would bring an improvement in the basic way of thinking of the consumer.
For example, one IKEA store in every major city can make a world of difference in furniture retail compared to all the Walmart and Carrefours.
Yes,We are afraid but not because it's Wal-Mart. We are afraid because it will crush all the small enterpreneurs and will turn them into worker. Because it will kill all those competition in the market who are poised to become leaders in their segment. I am in UK for last 2 years and I have seen people doing their monotonous job, working for these giants who have eaten all the small enterpreneuers on the high street. Now only shop you can see here are big chains. Few of the top employees are getting all the benefits and rest Small/Medium company are totally vanished. If you want to see your parents,brothers and relatives to see delivering goods at these supermarket chains, you are more than welcome to go ahead. Don't think about china,holland and other countries who have given permission to open Wal-Mart.It might fire back as well.
Liberlisation is good but there is always a downside as well and there must be a boundary for that. We are best in services so let's stick to that. Exploring in retail and that too like Wal-Mart could be too dangerous to recuperate. Wal-Mart ofcourse would be able to sell stuffs 10% cheaper but at the cost of employer turning into an employee
I hope Walmart IS forced to close down in India. As such, it has been the big bully taking over every small scale industry where ever it set its eyes on. A chain of Walmart stores across the country would only make an America out of India, which is known to celebrate its diversity even in the shopping options that its cities offer. Knowing that one can only expect the exact same store, with the exact same layout of products in EVERY city across the COUNTRY is not something that Indians are going to welcome. And how does Walmart plan to procure huge shop spaces and parking lots in Indian cities to suit its store design? Let's not forget the valid point of traffic and driving distances which make trips to 'Walmart' for monthly shopping a painful experience that is not worth saving the few rupees that one thinks he can!
RE:Keep Walmart not simply out of the city...drive it out of the country !
by pradeep on Dec 07, 2005 12:19 AM
Indian are happy with product monopoly and 'shitty' options available to consumer due to lack of real competetion!!
Do not underestimate Wal-Mart. That's the mistake Wal-Marts competitors did in the rest of the world and most of them are out of business now. You have to acknowledge and respect your competitor for the expertise they possess. That does not mean that we offer the victory on a platter to them. Instead use it as an opportunity to improvise your business model in terms of procurement, distribution, cost control, scale and most important of all "customer focus". Even in USA there are small/medium scale companies who survived and flourishing today using the above mentioned strategy.
Always remember. "Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them."---George Santayana
RE:Look what happened in 90s
by Sar Jayaraman on Dec 09, 2005 11:18 PM
I agree to the part of the comment that India needs more FDI. This will ultimately lead our Indian companies to improve their business model whereas creating crating more jobs and wealth for common people. That's what I meant when I portrayed WalMart's entry to India as an oppurtunity rather than a threat.
I guess this good intention was not understood correctly by the reader who commeted before. Things like questioning the wisdom of Indians living abroad could have been avoided.
Look what happened in 90s
by Rajeev on Dec 07, 2005 11:03 AM
Its really sad, some of the desis (Indians who escaped to US or greener pastures) are just commenting on their will. I just read someone saying I stayed for so long in US, does that mean it gives wisdom what India needs?? They themselves queue up to Walmart to buy stuff, do not even take a look at Target etc retail stores at all.(Ofcourse they also Q up for Green Cards and never want to live in India.thats the irony). Some one pointed about razor, my dear friend poor ppl need food first. India needs FDI, check how much is getting invested in China.All of now China wants to build biggest airport in Beijing.. Where is it getting all the money.. India needs more money invested thats the bottom line. Its getting fraction compared to china ..Now a days youth is enjoying high salary packets in IT industry ..Why ??? Go back to early 90s what happened, Insurance sector became private, LIC was in monopoly. Now Prudential, met life are there did they eat up LIC no ?.India pushed out IBM in 70s, now all CMs want more companies in their state. Now IBM is back did it eat up TCS,Infy,Wipro etc ??. I still remember in 90s, 10 K rupees was considered good salary, now its not why?
The corporate retail giants like the Piramals and Tatas should not be the one losing their sleep over Wal-marts move into their neighbourhood. Wal-mart is cheap and so is its quality. Quality seeking shoppers will continue to go to the Piramals and Tatas. The 'just around the corner' kirana shop will be the one who will feel the pinch when shoppers will flock to Wal-mart to get their everyday supply of tea powder and biscuits. The story of Wal-mart's killing the neighbourhood convinient stores of US of A, will be retold. But as Rajeev(above) says, India needs FDI, why not in retail!!!
Its a love-it or hate-it phenomenon. While standardization of products is good for quality and in some sense useful, say-if you love something and you are travelling all-over India, you can find it in any Wal-mart store. But then you stand to lose the ingenuity and flavor of products that come with the home-grown flavor. It will threaten the local industry and the sublime flavors which vary from region-to-region in our huge country. Not just in food, but day-to-day products, clothes, etc.
