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Walmart’s Growth Summit Beckons Indian Partners

With a goal of accelerating progress towards Walmart’s commitment to triple its exports of goods from India, the Walmart Growth Summit will be held on February 14-15, 2024, in New Delhi…reports Asian Lite News

Walmart has revealed that the application process for its inaugural Growth Summit in India will commence on November 9. This summit presents a platform for export-ready suppliers, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), cross-border trade suppliers, and innovative supply chain companies to pitch for business opportunities.

With a goal of accelerating progress towards Walmart’s commitment to triple its exports of goods from India, the Walmart Growth Summit will be held on February 14-15, 2024, in New Delhi. Registration for the event is open through December 11, 2023.

The two-day event will bring together Indian companies and several dozen Walmart buyers from the United States to evaluate their products for export, with buyers offering real-time, on-the-ground deals and prospects. Aligned with Walmart’s commitment to annually source USD 10 billion of goods from India by 2027, the goal of the event is to partner with the Make in India initiative, increasing exports across categories where India has expertise including food, consumables, health and wellness, general merchandise, apparel, shoes, home textiles and toys.

Walmart.(photo:IANS/TWitter)

The event will further enhance Walmart’s efforts to support India’s ambition to develop the country’s supply chain to be a leading participant in global markets, bringing together the Walmart sourcing innovation team and India-based supply chain innovators.

Andrea Albright, Executive Vice President, Sourcing, Walmart, said, “Walmart has long invested in India, and sees tremendous opportunity in continuing to expand exports with our existing suppliers while developing relationships with new ones. The Growth Summit will help us do just that. A purchase order from Walmart can have ripple effects in communities often enabling suppliers to create new jobs and expand local manufacturing. We’re excited to host this event and believe it will be the first of many.”

A key supplier to Walmart globally, Anoop Bector, Managing Director, Mrs. Bector’s Food Specialities Ltd., said, “Walmart’s unwavering commitment to Indian suppliers has provided our company with resources and opportunities to showcase our products on a global scale. Walmart has been an invaluable partner in our story of global growth, through tailored training programs, expansive marketplaces. Mrs. Bector’s Food Specialties is one of India’s leading companies in the premium and mid-premium biscuits & bakery segment under the brand ‘Cremica & English Oven’.”

Walmart’s commitment to India is not new, with the company already exporting products across a range of categories since the 1990s. The company, in association with Flipkart, also continues making progress in growing and training MSMEs through Walmart Vriddhi , a program launched in 2019 to empower 50,000 entrepreneurs to participate in domestic and global supply chains. And in 2022, Walmart recruited sellers for items for the company’s online marketplace, an effort that drew interest from more than 650 Indian MSMEs.

Amitesh Jha, Senior Vice President – Category and Marketplace, Flipkart Group, said, “We are happy to participate in this pioneering initiative of the Growth Summit, aimed at boosting exports from India and driving market access for MSMEs. The Flipkart Group is focused on helping MSMEs and small businesses leverage the power of e-commerce to accelerate their growth by providing access to new markets and customers, built on a strong technology backbone. The Growth Summit aims to give these businesses a view into the opportunities that exist internationally and provide further impetus for the growth and prosperity of the Indian MSME ecosystem.”

Walmart said sellers and supply chain experts may register for the Walmart Growth Summit here from November 9 – December 11, 2023.

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Walmart boosts stakes in Flipkart

Walmart purchased Tiger Global’s remaining holding in Flipkart to further cement its control of the Indian e-commerce giant…reports Asian Lite News

Retail giant Walmart has reportedly paid $1.4 billion to acquire VC form Tiger Global’s remaining shares in the e-commerce major.

According to a report in Wall Street Journal, Walmart has paid the money to boost Flipkart’s stake.

“Purchase of shares from Tiger Global values the Indian e-commerce company at about $35 billion,” the report said late on Sunday.

Walmart purchased Tiger Global’s remaining holding in Flipkart to further cement its control of the Indian e-commerce giant.

Tiger Global made an overall gain of $3.5 billion on an investment of $1.2 billion, reports mentioned.

Flipkart was earlier valued at $37.6 billion in a 2021 funding round.

Walmart had 72 per cent share in Flipkart as reported last.

Tiger Global held a 4 per cent stake in the e-commerce leader.

Last month, Flipkart began a “one-time discretionary” cash payment of $700 million to employees following its separation from fintech firm PhonePe.

In an email to employees, Flipkart Group chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy said, “We have exciting times ahead, and as we continue to grow across businesses, I look forward to your continued dedication and determination to bring about the future that we envision and scale new heights together.”

The PhonePe Group was acquired by the Flipkart Group in 2016.

The Flipkart Group is one of India’s leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+ and Cleartrip.

Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India’s digital commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of more than 400 million, offering over 150 million products across over 80 categories.

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Walmart CEO meets PM Modi in Delhi

Together, we’ll continue to support the country’s manufacturing growth and create opportunity.” – CEO Doug McMillon.” The meeting was held on Thursday…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his meeting with Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon was a fruitful one and that he was happy to see India emerge as an attractive destination for investment.

On Sunday, PM Modi tweeted, “The meeting with Mr. Doug McMillon, CEO of @Walmart, was a fruitful one. We had insightful discussions on different subjects. Happy to see India emerge as an attractive destination for investment.” The Prime Minister’s tweet was posted with the retweet of a tweet from Walmart Inc’s handle which was posted on Saturday. The tweet posted by Walmart Inc was, “The visit with Prime Minister @narendramodi reinforces the shared value we bring working alongside India. Together, we’ll continue to support the country’s manufacturing growth and create opportunity.” – CEO Doug McMillon.” The meeting was held on Thursday.

Prior to this on Friday, Walmart Inc on its official Twitter handle said, “Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for a great conversation. We are working toward exporting $10B (USD 10 billion) per year from India by 2027 and are committed to strengthening logistics, skill development & supply chains to make India a global export leader in toys, seafood & other goods.”

Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon McMillon reinforced the company’s continued commitment to building an ecosystem of suppliers and partners in India, including small and medium enterprises, to meet the company’s goal of sourcing USD 10 billion of India-made goods each year by 2027, according to a statement from the company.

“We are committed to India and are here for the long term. I was excited to meet with the diverse Indian ecosystem of suppliers, small and medium enterprises, merchants and partners who are innovating and driving growth and opportunities,” said McMillion said in a statement. (ANI)

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Giants succumb to layoff trend

A visitor poses for a photo with Microsoft's logo at Microsoft's corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington State, the United States, Sept. 19, 2015. (Xinhua/Yang Lei/IANS)

To date, tech firms based or with operations in Washington have announced more than 32,000 job cuts…reports Asian Lite News

Microsoft has laid off 559 employees from its Bellevue and Redmond in Washington state in the US, bringing the company’s total to over 2,700 job cuts in the area.

The layoffs, announced by the Washington State Employment Security Department, hit Microsoft’s security operations, reports The Seattle Times.

The company in February announced a prior round of layoffs in which 617 employees in Redmond, Bellevue, and Issaquah were also let go.

Reports said that hundreds of employees faced cuts in security roles under Charlie Bell, a former Amazon Web Services executive who joined Microsoft in 2021.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the latest layoffs “are part of the effort to align our cost structure with our revenue that was announced in January”.

To date, tech firms based or with operations in Washington have announced more than 32,000 job cuts.

Earlier this month, Microsoft conducted a third round of job cuts that impacted employees in roles related to supply chain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).

According to CRN, the third wave of layoffs are part of the 10,000 job cuts announced by Microsoft earlier this year.

Job cuts were across various levels, functions, teams and geographies, the report said, quoting the company.

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella in January announced that the company will be “making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3 (third quarter)”.

The company had more than 220,000 employees and the layoffs affected around 5 per cent of its workforce.

Disney’s 1st job cut round begins

Disney will begin its first round of layoffs at the company this week. In total, the media and entertainment company will sack 7,000 employees in three rounds, its CEO Bob Iger has announced.

The job cuts will reportedly affect Disney’s media and distribution segment along with ESPN and the parks and resorts division, according to CNBC.

“This week, we begin notifying employees whose positions are impacted by the company’s workforce reductions,” Iger wrote in the memo.

“A second, larger round of notifications will happen in April with several thousand more staff reductions, and we expect to commence the final round of notifications before the beginning of the summer to reach our 7,000-job target,” he added.

In February, Iger had announced to lay off 7,000 employees as Disney looks to save billions of dollars by restructuring the company, cutting content, and trimming payroll.

“For our employees who aren’t impacted, I want to acknowledge that there will no doubt be challenges ahead as we continue building the structures and functions that will enable us to be successful moving forward. I ask for your continued understanding and collaboration during this time,” Iger elaborated in his memo.

Disney expects to deliver approximately $3 billion in savings over the next few years, excluding sports.

Warner Bros. Discovery and other legacy media firms have also reduced several thousand jobs to cut costs.

“We have made the difficult decision to reduce our overall workforce by approximately 7,000 jobs as part of a strategic realignment of the company, including important cost-saving measures necessary for creating a more effective, coordinated and streamlined approach to our business,” Iger wrote.

Walmart.(photo:IANS/TWitter)

Walmart joins fray

Retail giant Walmart is laying off hundreds of employees at its e-commerce facilities across the US as part of an adjustment in staffing “to better prepare for the future needs of customers”.

Walmart is shrinking its workforce as many retailers plan on roughly flat or declining sales, reports CNBC.

A company spokesperson said that this decision was not made lightly.

“We’re working closely with affected associates to help them understand what career options may be available at other Walmart locations,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

About 200 workers will be affected at Walmart’s southern New Jersey facility, reports Reuters.

Walmart’s rival Amazon has slashed 27,000 jobs in two rounds and another retail major Target plans to cut up to $3 billion in total costs over the next three years.

Walmart anticipates slower sales growth and lower profits in the coming fiscal year.

The company said last month that it expects same-store sales for its US business to grow between 2-2.5 per cent, excluding fuel.

Online sales have continued to grow, though at a slower pace than during the peak of the pandemic.

In its fourth quarter, Walmart delivered strong revenue growth globally with strength in stores and e-commerce. Total revenue was $164 billion, up 7.3 per cent.

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Business

Walmart looks to raise to $3 bn for Flipkart

Walmart partners with TikTok for new livestream shopping

According to media reports, Walmart may bring strategic investors into Flipkart via this fundraising…reports Asian Lite News

Retail giant Walmart is reportedly raising up to $3 billion for its e-commerce giant Flipkart to further expand its operations in the country.

With new funds, Flipkart’s valuation is set to soar to more than $40 billion, giving a fillip to the Indian funding scene which is going through a harsh winter.

Flipkart Group in July last year raised $3.6 billion to grow and advance the digital commerce ecosystem in India. The investment valued the group at $37.6 billion post the money then.

According to media reports, Walmart may bring strategic investors into Flipkart via this fundraising.

The move, according to close sources, is to keep Flipkart ahead in the e-commerce race as online shopping surges with every festive season in the country.

Amazon, Flipkart.

Reached for a reaction, a Flipkart spokesperson told IANS that “We do not comment on speculation”. Walmart declined to comment.

The last fundraise demonstrated significant interest from global investors, including sovereign funds, private equity and crossovers in addition to Walmart. It was led by financial investors GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, along with investments from sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global.

“This investment by leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart’s capabilities to maximise this potential for all stakeholders,” Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart Group, had said in July last year.

“The quality of the investor group and valuation is further confirmation of global confidence in Flipkart and its mission to transform commerce in India,” Judith McKenna, President and CEO – Walmart International, had said.

Bengaluru-based Redseer Strategy Consultants had predicted $11.8 billion worth gross merchandise value (GMV) during the entire festive month up to Diwali. E-commerce marketplaces usually hold up to three sales leading up to the festival of lights.

The online retail platforms in India clocked $5.7 billion (about Rs 40,000 crore) worth festive sales between September 22 to 30, a robust 27 per cent (year-on-year) growth.

Mobile phones continue to lead the market with 41 per cent contribution in gross merchandise value (GMV) and nearly 56,000 mobile handsets were sold every hour, according to the report by Redseer.

Flipkart Group (Flipkart, Myntra and Shopsy) continued to lead the market with 62 per cent market share in GMV.

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Business

Walmart offers platform for Indian sellers

Walmart Marketplace offers nearly 170 million unique items to a loyal base of customers, and is seeking to bring 40,000 new sellers onto the platform this year…reports Asian Lite News

Retail giant Walmart on Thursday said that it is now offering manufacturers and trading firms in India to reach a growing market of more than 120 million US consumers each month.

As part of its efforts to expand sourcing from India to $10 billion a year by 2027, Walmart, along with Flipkart and cross-border commerce company Payoneer, has laid out a detailed roadmap for local sellers with export ambitions.

“Now is the ideal time for sellers from India to get started as exporters on Walmart Marketplace. It’s already one of the top online marketplaces in the US, and we’re investing heavily to help new sellers bring great products and services to the platform,” said Michelle Mi, Walmart Vice President, Emerging Markets and Business Development-Global Sourcing.

He was speaking at the Walmart Global Seller Summit in New Delhi, attended by 650 sellers from the country.

Walmart Marketplace offers nearly 170 million unique items to a loyal base of customers, and is seeking to bring 40,000 new sellers onto the platform this year.

The company said it sees particular potential for India-made products in highly-searched categories like furniture, bedding, home decor and more.

“Over the past decade, Flipkart has helped build a strong supply chain ecosystem in India, enabling hundreds of thousands of local businesses to begin selling online as part of India’s digital retail revolution,” said Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group.

At the grassroots level, Walmart and Flipkart are providing training and support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with export ambitions via the Walmart Vriddhi supplier development programme.

“We are delighted to help high-quality Indian sellers in our ecosystem to gain direct access to the world’s largest omni-channel retailer,” said Gaurav Shisodia, Country Manager, Payoneer.

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