S

through my senses -- most likely senseless

Friday, May 06, 2005

Wal-Mart in India

looks like Wal-Mart might enter our market pretty soon. I'm not really that left, but still I feel that wal-mart would only be a bane for our economy. ours, as I keep repeating, is primarily a manufacturing-dependent economy. if this happens, we could see a huge influx of foreign goods in India. already it is prevalent, and this could entirely wipe out domestic consumer industries. not good at all for our country.

why wal-mart is good for the US? primarily because US has a service oriented economy. there is so much IP (intellectual property), that they can still survive without manufacturing even a small small toothbrush :) ours can never be like that. US economy is more like the famed IBM Corp. they are still a guerilla in the tech industry, but are slowly shedding away their manufacturing components and concentrating more on business consulting. they rely on their patents and IP. I don't think if any Indian company could do that.

20 Comments:

Blogger Kaps said...

Metro Cash & Carry (of Germany) are already there in Bangalore and they have shaken up the retail industry. Metro is similar to Sam's Club and Costco. Entry of Walmart could give a big boost to the booming retail scene.

However Walmart is known to squeeze the manufacturers / FMCG firms so much that they start feeling the pinch.

11:19 AM  
Blogger Me said...

I would slightly differ from your view point. US is losing all its IP. Too much outsourcing has caused it to lose all its core competencies and I wouldn't be surprised if companies in India & China come up with better & cheaper products in near future.

US real "IP" is in defence and space sectors ofcourse some R&D sure exists.

About Walmart:
Walmart has a huge financial base. It would first take away the market share from all the local competition by offering low price and then it will slowly stabilize itself in India becoming a market leader.

4:22 PM  
Blogger Kaps said...

Just wanted to add one thing. Walmart was first on the Fortune 500 list this year. 80% of its products are sourced from China.

4:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All our local kadai annachis can kiss their businesses good bye if walmart plans to enter in a big way.

At the same time something tells me that our resourceful annachis will give walmart a run for its money and wont fold like the mom and pop shops in US.

5:22 PM  
Blogger Harish said...

I am not sure if Walmart India would be anything like Walmart USA. Noone would wanna buy stuff "made in cuba" or "made in bangladesh" or "made in mexico" in India.

7:40 PM  
Blogger Sudarshan said...

I guess as someone already pointed out , with the entry of walmart the local shops can kiss good bye to their businesses.

I am not sure what Manmohan Singh meant by globalization with human face when he took over. But if this is what it is, then he can kiss goodbye to his post as well.

8:03 PM  
Blogger Narayanan Venkitu said...

I really welcome the move. It will drive competition and will benefit customers.

I remember, while I was working for Wal-mart in 1994-95, there were plans to open WalMart-India. Somehow the plans got shelved.

This is good news.

Come on Target.!! KMart...Please follow.!

2:25 PM  
Blogger capriciously_me said...

i am not sure how gud its gonna be for india...i doubt tht customer service is gonna be better than the others..they will obvsly alter policies to suit india...we prob wont be able to return stuff even if we are unhappy with the product & all...this will prob destroy all small shop owners and am not very thrilled abt that :(

6:28 PM  
Blogger Kaps said...

Our neighbourhood provision (mahligai) stores need not fear so much as yet. The current govt. policy states that the MAX FDI in the retail sector is 51%. So Walmart has to necessarily to come in with a JV partner. Further I doubt whether they will open more than 2 - 3 stores even in the metros. Our Annachi stores are good in providing credit and other value added services to the neighbourhood. Hence they can co-exist with MNC's like Walmart.

9:04 PM  
Blogger Vani Viswanathan said...

hmm, i don't really know what wal-mart is, but from what some have said, is it some store that sells CGs from all over the world?
and harish, i think indians will buy stuff which have the made in ---(i mean, other than india) label...we smartly think oh, this place is good for this, so this product should be good, and so on....unless its way expensive, india might still be an attractive market!

9:26 PM  
Blogger capriciously_me said...

kaps, news is that the fdi limit may go away for the retail market & walmart leaders are in india amidst such talk...i dont see this as a gud sign...i maybe wrong...& space constraints are prob there for metros...i dont see where they cud open such a big stores in the cities...it will also prob not affect provision stores of small towns...for now...

& yeah, i can picture vetti bandha ppl buying products from outside india & saying "engayo mexico-nu oru oorula panninadhaame...romba nalla iruku" :P

12:12 PM  
Blogger Chakra said...

When Indian markets were opened up in early 90s, there were fears abt domestic industry suffering and all that.. to some extent, they were true but lot of better things happened - like job opportunities, quality products, better competition etc. Walmart cd also do the same.

In my opinion, the ones to worry are the likes of Food World, Subhiksha etc. and not the annachi shops. Time wd tell.

1:05 AM  
Blogger Badri said...

The biggest problem is already Indian manufacturers are reeling under effect of dumped Chinese goods.4000 out of 5000 wamart suppliers are Chinese

4:52 AM  
Blogger Badri said...

saran
this is for all Superstar fans
http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=13736924
sorry for the diversion folks

4:56 AM  
Blogger Krish said...

Saranyan, your previous post has become the basis of my current post :-)

11:57 AM  
Blogger Ram C said...

My view is somewhat different...

I feel that we don't need Walmart ownership in India...This will become like COKE /PEPSI's trick of completley wiping out the local entreprs with their muscle power.

I can still remember the success of Thumsup, Limca, Goldspot etc., which is completely forgotton now.

This WALMART may spoil the retail industry, which has just now getting organised in India.

3:27 PM  
Blogger Harish said...

ram, u forgot the "local" brand bovonto. i ve a relative who actually works there and its a sad tale.

6:15 PM  
Blogger saranyan r said...

sorry guys couldn't catch up with you all.

Walmart cannot be compared to foodworld and spencers. this is a behemoth than can turn a country's economy totally. it sells anything and everything on this planet.

and if the cap on the FDI goes away, then we can just kiss goodbye to our economy.

all our local brands will suffer the same fate as the trio, solo, bovonto soft drinks. Atleast Pepsi and Cocoa Cola are manufactured in Inida, provides the locals with jobs. whereas walmart isn't going to do that. they are just retailers, not manufacturers...dunno how many people got that.

1:38 PM  
Blogger Krish said...

Saranyan..I think that will not happen...Walmart is known to drive a heavy bargain and that would squeeze the suppliers..also the road corner poti kadais would be suffering...but as with all developements, that would be beneficial to the end customers...people will always be displaced...thinking of entry of walmart in US...the same story would have been repeate...comparing today's US adn India would not be a correct thing...compare Today's India, with the US at the same period as India is now...the scenario would be enterily different..

5:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pl peruse ALL articles on the subject of FDI in Retail on the following site for appreciation of the Indian Context:

www.prajatantra.blogspot.com

11:52 AM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home