How BIG is Walmart?

Rahul92

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The imbroglio over the entry of foreign retailers in the multibrand retail segment has stirred a hornet's nest in the political and business establishments.

While Walmart is not the only company that will benefit from the proposed opening up of the multibrand retail segment to foreign investment (via FDI), just a mention of Walmart's name is enough to evoke varied reactions from across various segments of the society.

(Read The Explainer: Foreign Direct Investment)

Currently, 100% FDI is allowed in wholesale cash-and-carry while 51% FDI is allowed in single brand retail. Recently, the government of India allowed 51% FDI in multibrand retail, paving the way for entry of global giants like Walmart, Tesco, and Carrefour. However, the policy decision has been suspended by the government following a hue and cry from the opposition parties.

Protests against Walmart are not a India-specific feature; Walmart and its ilk have faced them almost in every market they have entered. So what is it about the Behemoth of Bentonville that evokes such fears?

Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. Currently, it is the world's largest company, with a revenue of U.S.$421 billion (nearly 25% of India's GDP!) and the world's largest private sector employer (with 21 lakh employees).

Here is an interesting infographic on Walmart, the largest departmental chain store in the world. I found it at Frugaldad.








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W.G.Ewald

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It's true, though. Nobody ever gets pepper-sprayed at Macy's.
 

warriorextreme

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is it true that cheap value drugs in walmart are imported from india? i read it on wiki
 

amoy

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4 or more Walmart or Sam's Club in my hometown city. Recently it acquired Trust Mart a Taiwanese retailer quite successful in ML China. But an insider told me they just managed to break even after so many years in China?!
 

Tshering22

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If we had any sensibility, we would consider going Walmart style worldwide in medical field. Let's face it, no one can offer better bang for buck in quality terms compared to us. Not even the Chinese. We can technically be the world leaders in this field. But because of pathetic policies and a demented outwards economic policy of pacifism, we are unable to.

Imagine a juggernaut Pharma giant chain throughout eastern, African, latin American countries, consuming only Indian made medicines. This could be of strategic proportions.

Before anyone calls me fanboy or a teenager, I want to ask this: 20 years ago did anyone think Chinese finished goods could conquer the globe like this?

No.


Today, anything is possible. And we should believe in ourselves first. That's the difference between Chinese and us; we worship the West (negative side, but conveniently forget their positive side), while Chinese are confident about oneself.

Our use of English here rather than Hindi (despite being of other states) and Chinese using Mandarin as common language instead of english despite being from different language groups is a small evidence of why we are backward
 

Singh

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If we had any sensibility, we would consider going Walmart style worldwide in medical field. Let's face it, no one can offer better bang for buck in quality terms compared to us. Not even the Chinese. We can technically be the world leaders in this field. But because of pathetic policies and a demented outwards economic policy of pacifism, we are unable to.

Imagine a juggernaut Pharma giant chain throughout eastern, African, latin American countries, consuming only Indian made medicines. This could be of strategic proportions.
Indians have advantage in manufacturing generics, Western/Americans forte is research and blockbuster drugs.

Before anyone calls me fanboy or a teenager, I want to ask this: 20 years ago did anyone think Chinese finished goods could conquer the globe like this?
No.
Atleast for the last 1.5 decades there had been a steady invasion of Chinese goods worldwide, and despite of which, the Germans have held their own.


Today, anything is possible. And we should believe in ourselves first. That's the difference between Chinese and us; we worship the West (negative side, but conveniently forget their positive side), while Chinese are confident about oneself.

Our use of English here rather than Hindi (despite being of other states) and Chinese using Mandarin as common language instead of english despite being from different language groups is a small evidence of why we are backward
Chinese are desperate to learn English, and most young people spend a hefty portion of their salaries on learning English.
 

Singh

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4 or more Walmart or Sam's Club in my hometown city. Recently it acquired Trust Mart a Taiwanese retailer quite successful in ML China. But an insider told me they just managed to break even after so many years in China?!
Most big retailers in China are barely breaking even.
 

Bangalorean

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Our use of English here rather than Hindi (despite being of other states) and Chinese using Mandarin as common language instead of english despite being from different language groups is a small evidence of why we are backward
I don't want to turn this thread into a language shitfest, but I really want to ask you one question - what great advantage would we have gained by using Hindi (or any other native language for that matter) instead of English? Just false sense of chest thumping, for being "desi". In the Indian context, no language is more suitable than English for technical and scientific education. You make it sound like Hindi has a great deal of scientific and engineering literature and manuals, and a history of scientific research in the language, which is going waste!!!

And I want to put a stop to this notion that we are "backward" (with whatever justification that follows such a statement). The reason we are behind China in terms of development is because we liberalized our economy 13 years after China did. That is the reason China is slightly more than a decade ahead of India.

If we had kicked out the Nehru-Gandhi licence raj economic model in 1978, we would have been at the same level as China is today. Let us put a stop to the notion that we are "backward" because of some reason or the other.
 
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Param

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Chinese are desperate to learn English, and most young people spend a hefty portion of their salaries on learning English.
That's a good thing. This would make some people here realise what a mistake they are committing by trying to discourage English.When I was in college my English lecturers told us about the huge demand for English teachers from India in countries like China and Oman.

One of the advantages Indian IT professionals have over their Chinese counterparts is English.
Unfortunately that's changing.http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7fdfd940-d53f-11de-81ee-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1gKmfSPzO
 
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Ray

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French used to be the language of the Court, diplomacy, and intellects at one time.

English is now the flavour of the world.

Chinese accented English is rather difficult to understand, since notwithstanding the accent which is normal for all people speaking a foreign language, they cannot say 'r' and instead it come out as 'l' i.e rice comes out as lice and prick come out as plik. Pork come us as guttural pok.
 

amoy

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I don't want to turn this thread into a language shitfest, but I really want to ask you one question - what great advantage would we have gained by using Hindi (or any other native language for that matter) instead of English? Just false sense of chest thumping, for being "desi". In the Indian context, no language is more suitable than English for technical and scientific education.
Quite off topic, but let me ask u a very simple question: Why did Israel revive Hebrew as their official language? And why are Germany, Russia and Japan leading in tech and sci. fields, as non English states?
The reason we are behind China in terms of development is because we liberalized our economy 13 years after China did. That is the reason China is slightly more than a decade ahead of India.
over simplified. not merely abt 'liberalization' - when FDI looks for destinations more factors at work, a competent / educated / disciplined labor force, an effective governance, an comprehensive industrial base, supply chain, infra, a vast domestic market with purchasing power... most of which were laid down as ground work prior to ''liberalization'.

Many multibrand retailers still flood into China , like Tesco, Auchan in addition to Metro, Walmart, SM and Carrefour. Only a matter of time before they churn out a margin. Primarily they were mostly located at outskirts but soon enough a thriving neighborhood came into being around them. At the time of their access to China there were virtually no homegrown competitors of equal scale. But now indigenous retailers grow up mirroring their business models. Meantime Mom-and-pop stores don't go out of biz
 
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Param

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Quite off topic, but let me ask u a very simple question: Why did Israel revive Hebrew as their official language? And why are Germany, Russia and Japan still quite advanced while leading in tech and sci. fields?
Are you aware of the diversity, size and population of India? Only someone who has absolutely no knowledge about the country will compare this country with one of the smallest and east populous nations in the Middle East.
Germany, Russia and japan were quite advanced even at the end of the 19th Century during the industrial age. They already have a lot of homegrown Scientific and technical knowledge in their respective languages.
over simplified. not merely abt 'liberalization' - when FDI looks for destinations more factors at work, a competent / educated / disciplined labor force, an effective governance, an comprehensive industrial base, supply chain, infra, a vast domestic market with purchasing power... many more which were laid down as ground work prior to ''liberalization'.

Many multibrand retailers still flood into China , like Tesco, Auchan in addition to Metro, Walmart, Auchan and Carrefour. Only a matter of time for them to record a margin. They were mostly located at outskirts but soon enough a thriving neighborhood came into being around them. Before their access to China there were virtually no homegrown competitors of equal size. But now indigenous retailers grow up mirroring their business model
Blah blah blah.
One thing I don't like about some Chinese is Chest thumping.

Indian economy would have been much larger if the country had opened up the same time China did.
 

amoy

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Chinese accented English is rather difficult to understand, since notwithstanding the accent which is normal for all people speaking a foreign language, they cannot say 'r' and instead it come out as 'l' i.e rice comes out as lice and prick come out as plik. Pork come us as guttural pok.
Trying not to sound racist I have to say Indian English is being mocked as Inglish here, most incomprehensible. And a typical problem is lack of stress for words in Indian English (and of SE Asian)

L or R problem is with Chinese in some areas but not all. Some have N or L problem
 
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Bangalorean

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Quite off topic, but let me ask u a very simple question: Why did Israel revive Hebrew as their official language? And why are Germany, Russia and Japan leading in tech and sci. fields, as non English states?
Japan, Germany, France, etc. have a vast pool of scientific and technical literature in their own languages. Scientists from these countries were at the forefront of inventions and innovations in science and technology. Engineers from these nations gained more and more experience, put down their experience in journals and textbooks, and so on.

India was unfortunate enough to be colonized soon after the industrial revolution swept through the other nations. Those other nations peaked when India was at its nadir. The net result was that Indian languages never evolved a scientific vocabulary, never evolved sufficient reading material in higher education, especially in technical subjects. And so on. Indian languages retain a rich cultural legacy and have great works of literature. But with respect to technical education, there is nothing much to speak of. Would it make more sense to translate thousands of millions of journals, texts, etc. and build an artificial vocabulary from the ground up? Or use a language that the elite of the entire nation already speaks, and which already has a massive educational base here? The latter is the only way to go!!

over simplified. not merely abt 'liberalization' - when FDI looks for destinations more factors at work, a competent / educated / disciplined labor force, an effective governance, an comprehensive industrial base, supply chain, infra, a vast domestic market with purchasing power... most of which were laid down as ground work prior to ''liberalization'.

Many multibrand retailers still flood into China , like Tesco, Auchan in addition to Metro, Walmart, SM and Carrefour. Only a matter of time before they churn out a margin. Primarily they were mostly located at outskirts but soon enough a thriving neighborhood came into being around them. Before their access to China there were virtually no homegrown competitors of equal size. But now indigenous retailers grow up mirroring their business model. Meantime Mom-and-pop stores don't go out of biz
It is not oversimplification. Neither is it just about FDI.

All the good stuff that you have spoken about, such as competent, educated labour force, etc. - all these build up over time. You need to see the difference between India in 1991 and India today.

Economic growth and progress that has come to India after liberalization has brought about a lot of other changes too. Things that are hugely important, but intangible. Things such as self confidence, can-do attitude, loss of the inferiority complex, entrepreneurial drive, risk taking, and so on.

No, what I said was not oversimplification by any means!!
 

amoy

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Blah blah blah.
One thing I don't like about some Chinese is Chest thumping.

Indian economy would have been much larger if the country had opened up the same time China did.
Nah, u don't have to like it. Just another way of looking at things. When u are not well prepared just opening up or 'liberalizing' doesnt work wonders. Think abt it
 

Ray

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Trying not to sound racist I have to say Indian English is being mocked as Inglish here, most incomprehensible. And a typical problem is lack of stress for words in Indian English (and of SE Asian)

L or R problem is with Chinese in some areas but not all. Some have N or L problem
You are right that Indians speak accented English. I said so in my post that all foreigners do.

What is so new about that.

Most understand English spoken by Indians, but not so with the Chinese speaking English.
 

Bangalorean

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Nah, u don't have to like it. Just another way of looking at things. When u are not well prepared just opening up or 'liberalizing' doesnt work wonders. Think abt it
You don't know what you are talking about.

Chinese find it very hard to understand things like diversity, freedom of choice, natural growth as opposed to rigid structural top-down preparation, and so on.

The amount of humungous development that India has witnessed in the last 2 decades has come about naturally, keeping pace with natural growth rate. That is how it works here.
 
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