TITLE:

Study of impact of Walmart, Flipkart on online retail space in India.

ABSTRACT:
Few years back technology brought the shopping information on to the
laptops, today it brings the products right to the doorstep. With the use of
internet as a medium a person can buy products from a virtual store
(shopping website). Though detractors to this technological advancement
thought that this would take the joy off shopping, it has only added a whole
new perspective to shopping. Electronic retailing (e-tailing), E-Retailing is
a buzzword for any business to-consumer (B2C) transactions that take
place over the Internet. Simply put, e-retailing is the process of selling
retail goods using the internet. Companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Dell
created the online retail industry by putting the entire customer
experience - from browsing products to placing orders to paying for
purchases - on the Internet. The success of these and other companies
encouraged more traditional retailers to create an online presence to
augment their brick-and-mortar outlets. The penetration rate is quite low
in comparison to other countries worldwide; however the number of users
is significantly high. The Indian e-tailing sector has matured enough to deal
with the rapid transformations from the era of offline to online platform
to be used by the consumers and addresses the challenges faced in this
process. The paper examines the growth and opportunities in the Indian e-
tailing sector by focusing on the current and future wave of the big giant e
-tailer in India, like Flipkart, Amazon etc.
Keywords:
E-tailing, Multichannel, Product, Diversity, Service.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the twenty-first century it becomes increasingly difficult to run a
business without internet. The internet has become an essential tool for
many business activities including marketing. Some businesses do not exist
in bricks-and-mortar form, and therefore the internet, in terms of website,
etc., represents the entire storefront they present to the customers. Other
businesses use internet to facilitate their business activities such as
internet advertising. The usage of e-commerce has increased rapidly
across the developing countries like India. The Indian e-tailing sector has
matured enough to deal with the rapid transformations from the era of
offline to online platform to be used by the consumers and addresses the
challenges faced in this process. The paper examines the growth and
opportunities in the Indian e-tailing sector by focusing on the current and
future wave of the big giant e -tailer in India, Flipkart. The World Wide Web
has opened a set of new opportunities for organizations. From the
traditional brick and mortar firms, we now have click and mortar firms, i.e.,
firms are these days present online besides the physical store that you can
actually go visit. There are also organizations that have presence only in
the virtual world, i.e., they are present only online and don not have
physical stores, for example, amazon.com (Dutta, 2012). Retailers use the
Internet as a medium to market their goods and services and try to keep
in touch with them. With advancement in the field of technology and
Internet, e-retailing or e-tailing has become a household thing today. The
electronic retailing also called as e-tailing or internet retailing, is the
process of selling the goods and services through electronic media,
particularly the internet. Simply, the sale of retail goods and services online
is called as electronic retailing. Appliance Retailer (2015) reported that In
the latest Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, the top two most
valuable retail brands are the Chinese e-tailer Alibaba in the number one
spot with $66.4 billion and Amazon, coming closely behind with $62.3
billion. The annual ranking, released by Millward Brown, shows these two
etailers are now more valuable than Walmart which now comes in at
number three in the retail ranking at $35.2 billion. Another key difference
to keep in mind is the fact Walmart has 11,000 stores worldwide and both
Alibaba and Amazon have none. The Hindu (2016) Global e-commerce
sales made via mobile devices are expected to cross $638 billion by 2018,
according to the joint study brought out by Assocham and Deloitte on
Monday.E-tailers like Flipkart, Amazon and Jabong now get 50 per cent of
their revenues from consumers shopping on their mobile phones.
Predictive analytics is helping e-tailers provide better solutions real-time,
enabling compelling user experience even on mobile screens. India has an
internet users base of about 475 million as of July 2018, about 40% of the
population. Despite being the second-largest userbase in world, only
behind China (650 million, 48% of population), the penetration of e-
commerce is low compared to markets like the United States (266 million,
84%), or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing at an unprecedented rate,
adding around 6 million new entrants every month. The industry
consensus is that growth is at an inflection point. In India, cash on
delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the
e-retail activities. As of 2017, the largest e-commerce companies in India
are Flipkart, Amazon, ShopClues, Paytm, Snapdeal and e-bay.
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
Khan and Rahman (2016) Studied to examine the influence of e-tail brand
experience on e-brand trust and e-brand loyalty. The study also tests
whether gender moderates this influence. In all, 429 responses were
collected using both offline and online survey methods. Empirical results
confirm the impact of e-tail brand experience on e-brand trust and e-brand
loyalty. Gender was found to moderate the relationships. It was further
found that e-tail brand experience developed almost same levels of e-
brand trust in both males and females. However, males became more loyal
to e-tail brands when they received positive e-tail brand experiences.

Das (2016) Conducted a study to examine the antecedents and

consequences of trust in online shopping from an e-tail branding
perspective. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data online
from Indian e-tail shoppers and 309 samples were used for data analysis.
The results found etailer awareness, e-tailer associations, and e-tailer
perceived quality as antecedents of trust in online shopping. The results
also showed online trust positively influences the behavioural intentions,
namely, purchase intention, repurchase, and recommendation.
Chocarro, et al. (2015) Conducted a study with a target population of
online shoppers in spain to identify customer-specific differences in a
general model of e-loyalty taking into account the existence of unobserved
heterogeneity. A sample of 1,200 online shoppers was selected using sex
and age quotas based on data and found that e-loyalty and e-satisfaction
is significantly determined by consumers’ shopping styles.
Shobeiri, et al. (2014) To investigate how an E-retailer’s assistive intent
impacts the perceptions and behaviours of online shoppers, a survey on
the most recent e-purchase experiences of more than 600 individuals in
North America was conducted. Structural equation modelling was used to
assess the measurement and structural models. Results of the study
indicated that customers’ impressions of an E-retailer’s assistive intent
positively impact web site patronage intentions both directly and indirectly
through two key constructs of e-shopping, including web site involvement
and web site attitudes.
Najafi and Morshedlou, (2013) Conducted a study with aim a scientific
assessment of use of Ebranding in E-commerce that is one of reasons for
developing E-commerce in countries. For this 100 questionnaires were
delivered to research society that 70 questionnaires were received and the
same analysed with Analysis Hierarchical process method use of e-
branding in developing of ecommerce is 7 times higher than un using of e-
branding.
Chen and Mathews, (2013) Conducted a study in Taiwan to examine web
site service quality on brand attitude toward e-branding. For this data was
collected in an offline environment where the 500 questionnaire were
distributed by quota sampling approach. Out of a total sample of 500, 431
questionnaires were returned. Researchers concluded that portal website
attitude have indirect effect on e-retailer brand attitude through portal e-
service quality. Further, the study highlighted those portal intermediary
site e-services components such as e-service quality impacts the e-retailer
brand.
Bruhn et al. (2012) Conducted a study to investigate the relative impact of
brand communication on brand equity through social media as compared
to traditional media. A total of 393 participants fully completed the
questionnaires from three different industries, namely tourism,
telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals, were generated using a
standardized online-survey. The results of this empirical study show that
both traditional communications and social media communications have a
significant impact on brand equity.
Dash et.al, (2008) Conducted a study to understand drivers of customer
satisfaction, trust and loyalty towards web sites. The research sample was
composed of 198 post-graduate students from the Indian Institute of
Management at Lucknow in India. The results of the study indicate
significant preference for the local web site in almost all design categories.
Further, the study revealed that the local site instilled greater trust,
satisfaction and loyalty.
Christodoulides and Chernatony, (2004) Conducted a comprehensive
review of the literature on online branding and online customer behaviour
and also conducted 16 (semi-structured) depth interviews were
undertaken in the UK with online branding experts and found that
branding on the Web needs to address the unique characteristics of
computer-mediated environments, it was posited that classical measures
of brand equity were inadequate for this category of brands.
Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) Conducted a study in United State and
found that quality is expected to be a determinant of online retailer
success as well. This study suggested that four factors—website design,
fulfillment/ reliability, privacy/security and customer service—are strongly
predictive of customer judgments of quality and satisfaction, customer
loyalty and attitudes toward the website.

III. NEED/RELEVANCE OF STUDY

The management of brand has attained more importance due to the

change in the global market and increasing competition. Satisfied and loyal
end users are vital to any organisations continuing viability. Online retail
today is becoming one of the fast paced growing segments in the e-
commerce space. The Economic Times (2014) mentioned that the Indian
e-tailing market to expand to $8.5 billion in 2016 from $2 billion in 2013.
To maintain this growth in Indian e-tailing marketing, building customer
trust and loyalty is very important. With e-commerce growing rapidly and
online shopping becoming a trend and has become an important topic for
marketing researchers and practitioners (Santouridis and Trivellas, 2010).

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To review the present status of e- retailing in India.

2. To analyze the opportunities for e- retailing in India.

3. To study the case of Flipkart & Walmart: its history, growth and current
position.
V. METHODOLOGY

The present study is descriptive in nature and is based on secondary date.

The secondary data is availed from various journals and internet.

VI. WORLD’S E-COMMERCE INDUSTRY

The e-commerce industry comprises of four segments: the business-to-

business (B2B) segment, the business-to-customer (B2C) segment, the
consumer-to-business (C2B) segment and the customer-to customer (C2C)
segment. E-retail is a part of the B2C segment. All these modes of e-
commerce, including e-retail, crucially depend on internet and mobile
penetration. The number of internet users is 3.6 billion, representing
around 50.1% of the world's population in 2016
(http://www.internetworldstats. com /stats.htm). Live mint (2016)
reported that the e-commerce market that was valued at Rs.1.2 trillion at
the end of December 2015 will touch Rs.2.1 trillion by December 2016,
according to the Digital Commerce Report 2015, by the Internet and
Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International. Between
December 2011 and December 2015, the market has grown at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30%.

VII. INDIA’S E-COMMERCE INDUSTRY

Table 1 reveals that in 2016, India had the second largest number of
internet users in the world, impressive rates of growth in the number of
internet users, low growing penetration rates and a relatively lower share
of world internet users (at 12.57 per cent) compared to its 17.25 per cent
share of the world population. Thus, India offered scope for substantial
growth in potential internet usage. The number of internet users is 462
million, representing around 36.5% of the india's population in 2016.
(http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm)
 Sr. No. Country Global rankCountry’s share of world Country’s share of world Penetration (% of
population internet users population with
internet)

1. China 1 18.78 19.60 52.3 %

2. India 2 17.25 12.57 36.5 %

3. USA 3 4.41 7.80 88.6 %

4. Brazil 4 2.80 3.78 67.5 %

5. Indonesia 5 3.51 3.61 51.4 %

20. Italy 20 0.84 1.06 63.2 %

Table 1. Top internet user country statistics: 2016

Source: Internet Live stats

The penetration of e-commerce in India is going at a faster rate with a

significant number of new entrants such as Flipkart, and Snapdeal. The
Economic Times (2016) mentioned that the e-commerce market in India is
expected to nearly double to Rs 2,11,005 crore by December, according to
industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB.
The market grew 30% between December 2011 and December 2015 and
was valued at Rs 1,25,732 crore by the end of December 2015. Live mint
(2015) reported that the e-commerce market will account for 2.5% of the
India’s GDP by 2030, growing 15 times and reaching $300 billion, from the
current market size of ecommerce is $20 billion. “Further, India’s attractive
demographics – the youngest population in the world – should lead to over
300 million new online shoppers in the next 15 years, making e-tailing the
largest online segment,” it said.
 VIII. GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITIES IN E-RETAILING : AN INDIAN
PERSPECTIVE

The Economic Times (2016) according to 2016 Global Retail Development

Index (GRDI), which ranks top 30 developing countries for retail
investment worldwide, a pickup in GDP growth and better clarity regarding
FDI regulations have helped India achieve a second ranking. India's retail
sector has expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent
between 2013 and 2015, with annual sales crossing the USD 1 trillion mark,
according to A T Kearney, a London-based business consultancy. A retailer
selling goods via electronic transactions on the Internet called e-tailer. A
gradual increase in shopper base, coupled with steady increase in online
spends can help the Indian e-tailers reach gross merchandise value of USD
28 billion by FY 2020. We assume buyer penetration to improve to 18 per
cent by FY 2020 from 12 per cent in FY 2016, with annual average online
spend to increase by 10-15 per cent year-on-year (The Economic Times,
2016).

IX. CASE SCENARIO:

FLIPKART

 Flipkart was launched in October, 2007 by the duo, Sachin Bansal and
Binny Bansal, both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. As
of today, it is the first Billion dollar company in the Indian e-commerce
context with 30,000 employees, 36 million registered users, technology
that enables 5 million shipments/month, 8 million daily page visits and 13
state-of-the-art warehouses (source : http://www.flipkart.com/about-us).

 Flipkart.com is India’s leading marketplace with over 20 million products

across 70+ categories including baby care, books, clothes, games and toys,
home and kitchen, footwear, jewellery, laptops, etc. Their journey
commenced with selling books in the year 2007 and progressed to
consumer support 24x7 in the year 2008, to including music, movies and
 mobiles, cash on delivery in the year 2010. In the year 2011, Flipkart
incorporated features such as card on delivery, dedicated logistics for
faster delivery, 30 day replacement policy to having an inhouse brand
Digiflip in the year 2012.

 In the year 2013, they sold one hundred thousand books in a single day
and offered same day guarantee. In the year 2014, they had a billion dollar
funding, acquired Myntra, provided In-a-day guarantee and scheduled
delivery. Flipkart allows payment methods such as cash on delivery, credit
or debit card transactions, net banking, e-gift voucher and card swipe on
delivery (Source: www.flipkart.com). The Economic Times (2016)
mentioned that Flipkart India’s turnover is now nearly double the country’s
organised wholesale market that has players including Wal Mart and
Metro Cash& Carry.
 Live mint (2016) report mention that online marketplace Flipkart remained
India’s most popular e-commerce platform , just nudging ahead of arch-
rival Amazon India, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build
loyalty with Indian shoppers, according to the third version of the RedSeer
E-tailing Leadership Index (ELI). Paytm, a digital payments and commerce
platform, is also making its mark as a strong Internet brand, mostly on the
back of its digital wallet. Flipkart continues to lead the e-commerce
rankings with a total score of 97, followed by Amazon(95), Paytm(75),
Snapdeal(74), Shopclues(58) and Ebay(56).

History :
Flipkart was founded in October 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal,
who were both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and
formerly worked for Amazon. The company initially focused on online
book sales with country-wide shipping. Following its launch, Flipkart slowly
grew in prominence; by 2008, it was receiving 100 orders per day. In 2010,
Flipkart acquired the Bangalore-based social book discovery
service weRead from Lulu.com.
In late 2011, Flipkart made several acquisitions relating to digital
distribution, including Mime360.com and the digital content library of
Bollywood portal Chakpak.
In February 2012, the company unveiled its DRM-free online music
store Flyte. However, the service was unsuccessful due to competition
from free streaming sites, and shut down in June 2013.
In May 2012, Flipkart acquired Letsbuy, an online electronics retailer. In
May 2014, Flipkart acquired Myntra, an online fashion retailer, for ₹20
billion (US$280 million). Myntra continues to operate alongside Flipkart as
a standalone subsidiary; the site focuses on an upscale, "fashion-
conscious" market, while Flipkart itself focuses on the mainstream market
and major international brands.
In February 2014, Flipkart partnered with Motorola Mobility to be the
exclusive Indian retailer of its Moto G smartphone. Motorola also
partnered with Flipkart on the Moto E—a phone targeted primarily
towards emerging markets such as India. High demand for the phone
caused the Flipkart website to crash following its midnight launch on 14
May. Flipkart subsequently held exclusive Indian launches for other
smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi3 in July 2014 (whose initial release
of 10,000 devices sold out in around 5 seconds), the Redmi 1S and Redmi
Note in late-2014 (which saw similarly accelerated
sellouts), and Micromax's Yunique 2 in 2017.
On 6 October 2014, in honour of the company's anniversary and
the Diwali season, Flipkart held a major sale across the service that it
promoted as "Big Billion Day". The event generated a surge of traffic,
selling US$100 million worth of goods in 10 hours. The event received
criticism via social media over technical issues the site experienced during
the event, as well as stock shortages.
In March 2015, Flipkart blocked access to its website on mobile devices,
and began requiring that users download the site's mobile app instead.
The following month, Myntra went further and discontinued its website on
all platforms, in favour of operating exclusively through its app. The "app-
only" model, however, proved to be unsuccessful for Myntra (reducing
sales by 10%), and its main website was reinstated in February 2016. The
experiment with Myntra led to suggestions that Flipkart itself would
perform a similar move, but this did not occur. In November 2015, Flipkart
launched a new mobile website branded as "Flipkart Lite", which provides
an experience inspired by Flipkart's app that runs within smartphone web
browsers.
In April 2015, Flipkart acquired Appiterate, a Delhi-based mobile
marketing automation firm. Flipkart stated that it would use its technology
to enhance its mobile services. In October 2015, Flipkart reprised its Big
Billion Day event, except as a multi-day event that would be exclusive to
the Flipkart app. Flipkart also stated that it had bolstered its supply chain
and introduced more fulfilment centres in order to meet customer
demand. Flipkart achieved a gross merchandise volume of US$300 million
during the event, with the largest volumes coming from fashion sales, and
the largest value coming from mobiles.
In December 2015, Flipkart purchased a minority stake in the digital
mapping provider MapmyIndia. The company stated that it would licence
its data to help improve delivery logistics. In 2016, Flipkart acquired the
online fashion retailer Jabong.com from Rocket Internet for US$70 million,
as well as the UPI mobile payments startup PhonePe. In January 2017,
Flipkart made a US$2 million investment in Tinystep, a parenting
information startup.
In April 2017, eBay announced that it would sell its Indian subsidiary
eBay.in to Flipkart and make a US$500 million cash investment in the
company. eBay promoted that the partnership would eventually allow
Flipkart to access eBay's network of international vendors, and vice versa,
but these plans never actually came to fruit. In July 2017, Flipkart made an
offer to acquire its main domestic competitor, Snapdeal, for around
US$700–800 million. It was rejected by the company, which was seeking
at least US$1 billion.
Flipkart held a 51% share of all Indian smartphone shipments in 2017,
overtaking Amazon India (33%). Flipkart sold 1.3 million phones in 20 hours
on 21 September alone for its Big Billion Days promotion, doubling the
number sold on the first day of the event in 2016 (where it sold a total of
2.5 million phones in five days).

Business Structure :

In a report dated 25 November 2014, a leading media outlet reported that

Flipkart were operating through a complex business structure which
included nine firms, some registered in Singapore and some in India. In
2012, Flipkart co-founders sold WS Retail to a consortium of investors led
by Rajeev Kuchhal.

Funding :
Initially, the Bansals spent ₹400,000 (US$5,600) on developing the
site. Flipkart later raised funding from venture capital funds Accel
India (US$1 million in 2009) and Tiger Global (US$10 million in 2010 and
US$20 million in June 2011). On 24 August 2012, Flipkart announced the
completion of its 4th round of US$150 million funding from MIH (part
of Naspers Group) and ICONIQ Capital. The company announced, on 10
July 2013, that it has raised an additional US$200 million from existing
investors including Tiger Global, Naspers, Accel Partners and Iconic
Capital.
Flipkart's reported sales were ₹40 million (US$560,000) in FY 2008–
2009, ₹200 million (US$2.8 million) in FY 2009–2010 and ₹750
million (US$10 million) for FY 2010–2011. In FY 2011–2012, Flipkart is set
to cross the ₹5 billion (US$70 million) mark as Internet usage in the
country increases and people get accustomed to making purchases
online. Flipkart projects its sales to reach ₹10 billion (US$140 million) by
year 2014. On average, Flipkart sells nearly 10 products per minute and is
aiming at generating a revenue of ₹50 billion (US$700 million) by 2015.
On November 2012, the Enforcement Directorate began investigating
Flipkart for alleged violations of foreign direct investment regulations of
the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
Flipkart reported a loss of ₹2.81 billion (US$39 million) for the FY 2012–13.
In July 2013, Flipkart raised $160 million from private equity investors.
In October 2013, it was reported that Flipkart had raised an additional
US$160 million from new investors Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan
Stanley Wealth Management, SofinaSA, and Vulcan Inc., with participation
from existing investor Tiger Global.
On 26 May 2014, Flipkart announced that it had raised US$210 million
from Yuri Milner's DST Global and its existing investors Tiger Global,
Naspers and Iconiq Capital.
In early July 2014, it was also highly speculated that Flipkart was in
negotiations to raise at least $500 million, for a likely listing in the US for
2016.
On 29 July 2014, Flipkart announced that it raised US$1 billion from Tiger
Global Management LLC, Accel Partners, and Morgan Stanley Investment
Management, and a new investor, Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC.
In December 2014, after it received $700 million from another funding,
Flipkart had a market cap of $11 billion.
On 20 December 2014, Flipkart announced filing application with
Singapore-based companies' regulator ACRA to become a public company
after raising $700 million for long term strategic investments in India
following which its number of investors exceeded 50. The $700 million
fund raised by Flipkart added new investors—Baillie Gifford, Greenoaks
Capital, Steadview Capital, T. Rowe Price Associates and Qatar Investment
Authority—on company's board. Its existing investors DST Global, GIC,
ICONIQ Capital and Tiger Global also participated in this latest financing
round. As of May 2015, Flipkart had raised $550 million from some of its
existing investors, in a deal that raised its total valuation to $15 billion.
By August 2015, after raising another US$700 million, Flipkart had raised a
total of $3 billion, after over 12 rounds and 16 investors. In April 2017,
Flipkart underwent another round of funding, with $1.4 billion at a
valuation of $11.6 billion, including eBay, Microsoft, and Tencent. On 10
August 2017, Softbank Vision Fund invested another US$2.5 billion in
Flipkart.
On 19 September 2018, Flipkart Marketplace Singapore infused INR 3,463
crore into the Indian entity Flipkart Internet. The transaction was done in
two tranches according to the regulatory filings.

Criticism and Selling Counterfeit items :

On 13 September 2014, a Flipkart delivery boy allegedly molested a
housemaid in Hyderabad. The house maid's employer has been fighting
against Flipkart for justice on this issue, and also for making offline delivery
services safe.
On 6 October 2014 Flipkart launched a promotion called 'Big Billion Day'
with the intention to increase the popularity of their website by targeting
a billion sales in 1 day. This, even though Flipkart achieved the target, led
to public outcry and widespread criticism among consumers, competitors
and partners, heavily damaging its reputation. Many users could not place
orders because of high server load and errors which led to frustration
among customers. Many users who placed orders received emails stating
that their orders were cancelled. Most of the products were sold for less
than their cost, and Flipkart was accused of anti-competitive behaviour.
Major competitors filed complaints against Flipkart with the Commerce
Ministry, claiming that selling products lower than cost is against the
commerce policy of the country. The Ministry said that they would
formulate new trade rules for electronic retail after this incident.
Flipkart was criticised on the subject of net neutrality after their
announced partnership with Airtel to use the Airtel Zero platform which
would have made the Flipkart app free for Airtel Users. On 14 April 2015
Flipkart retracted its decision to use Airtel Zero platform.
In 2015, around 400 delivery executives working with eKart, the logistics
arm of Flipkart, went on strike to protest poor working conditions.
Complaints included seven-day workweeks, extended hours, lack of clean
toilets and medical assistance for bike riders involved in accidents. In 2016,
delivery executive Nanjunda Swamy was murdered by a customer who did
not have money to pay for a product. In response, Flipkart launched a
safety initiative for named 'Project Nanjunda' , after the deceased
executive. This included an SOS button in the mobile app (called the
Nanjunda button) that could be used by field executives in cases of
emergencies.
Sellers on Flipkart have been facing several challenges while doing their
business on its marketplace portal, to the extent that some of them had to
quit the portal. Some of these challenges include its unfair policies for
sellers, lack of a competent logistics service and customer returns that are
purely as a result of consumer fraud.

Flipkart in India :

Flipkart is the leader of e-commerce in the fast growing Indian market. The
company focuses on goods such as electronics, books, music and movies.
Consumers can access the site online or through an app on their mobile
phones.
While the economy of India is still much smaller than the US, it has over
1.1 billion people and is growing at a rapid 7% clip. Hundreds of millions of
Indians access the internet through desktop computers and mobile
devices. The company was founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny
Bansal to take advantage of this opportunity. It is a Singaporean company
which operates in India, where it is headquartered in Bangalore,
Karnataka.

X. PROGRESS OF THE FLIPKART

2007: Flipkart founded by IITians Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who used
to work at Amazon in Bengaluru, with 4 lakh initial capital.
2008: Gets undisclosed angel funding from ashsih Gupta, founder of jungle
and Helion Venture partners.
2009: Raises first institution round from venture capital fimr Accel India of
$ 1 million, and 10$ million from Tiger Global Mgmt.
2014: After Myntra’s acquisition in march 2014, raise $210 million from
DST Global.
2015: Co-founder Sachin and Binny Bansal, who are not related, become
first Indian internet billionaires, projected net worth of $1.3 billion each.
In FY2015, Flipkart Ltd clocked Rs 10,245.8 crore in revenues, up 248.6%
or Rs 2,937.7 crore a year ago.
In FY2016, Flipkart Ltd Clocked Rs 13177 crore in revenue, up 28.6% from
FY2015.

XI. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

In December 2016, Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal were named ‘Asian of the
Year 2016’.
In April 2016, Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal were named in 100 most
influential people by TIME.
In September 2015, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal entered Forbes India
Rich List debuting at the 86th position with a net worth of $1.3 billion each.
Co-Founder of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal, got Entrepreneur of the Year Award
2012–2013 from Economic Times, leading Indian Economic Daily.
 Flipkart.com was awarded Young Turk of the Year at CNBC TV 18's 'India
Business Leader Awards 2012' (IBLA).

WALMART

 Walmart Inc. (formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ) is an

American multinational retail corporation that operates
a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company was founded
by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. It also owns
and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses. As of October 31, 2018,
Walmart has 11,277 stores and clubs in 27 countries, operating under 55
different names. The company operates under the name Walmart in the
United States and Canada, as Walmart de México y Centroamérica in
Mexico and Central America, as Asda in the United Kingdom, as the Seiyu
Group in Japan, and as Best Price in India. It has wholly owned operations
in Argentina, Chile, Canada, and South Africa. Since August 2018, Walmart
only holds a minority stake in Walmart Brasil, with 20% of the company's
shares, and private equity firm Advent International holding 80%
ownership of the company.
Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue—over US$500 billion,
according to Fortune Global 500 list in 2018—as well as the largest private
employer in the world with 2.3 million employees. It is a publicly
traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton
family. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through their
holding company, Walton Enterprises, and through their individual
holdings. Walmart was the largest U.S. grocery retailer in 2016, and
62.3 percent of Walmart's US$478.614 billion sales came from U.S.
operations.
The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. By 1988,
Walmart was the most profitable retailer in the U.S., and by October 1989,
it had become the largest in terms of revenue. Originally geographically
limited to the South and lower Midwest, by the early 1990s, the company
had stores from coast to coast: Sam's Club opened in New Jersey in
November 1989 and the first California outlet opened in Lancaster in July
1990. A Walmart in York, Pennsylvania opened in October 1990: the first
main store in the Northeast.
Walmart's investments outside North America have seen mixed results: its
operations and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, South America, and
China are highly successful, whereas its ventures in Germany and South
Korea failed.

History :

1945–1969: Early history :

Sam Walton's original Walton's Five and Dime store
in Bentonville, Arkansas, now serving as The Walmart Museum
In 1945, businessman and former J. C. Penney employee Sam
Walton bought a branch of the Ben Franklin stores from the Butler
Brothers. His primary focus was selling products at low prices to get
higher-volume sales at a lower profit margin, portraying it as a crusade for
the consumer. He experienced setbacks because the lease price and
branch purchase were unusually high, but he was able to find lower-cost
suppliers than those used by other stores and was consequently able to
undercut his competitors on pricing. Sales increased 45% in his first year
of ownership to US$105,000 in revenue, which increased to $140,000 the
next year and $175,000 the year after that. Within the fifth year, the store
was generating $250,000 in revenue. When the lease for the location
expired, Walton was unable to reach an agreement for renewal, so he
opened up a new store at 105 N. Main Street in Bentonville, naming it
"Walton's Five and Dime". That store is now the Walmart Museum.
Original logo, 1962–1964
On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Walmart Discount City store at
719 W. Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas. The building is now occupied by
a hardware store and an antique mall, while the company's "Store #1" has
since relocated to a larger discount store and now expanded to a
Supercenter several blocks west at 2110 W. Walnut Street. Within its first
five years, the company expanded to 24 stores across Arkansas and
reached US$12.6 million in sales. In 1968, it opened its first stores outside
Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.
1969–1990: Incorporation and growth as a regional power

Logo used 1964–1981

Logo used 1981–1992

The company was incorporated as Wal-Mart, Inc. on October 31, 1969,
and changed its name to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1970. The same year, the
company opened a home office and first distribution center
in Bentonville, Arkansas. It had 38 stores operating with 1,500 employees
and sales of $44.2 million. It began trading stock as a publicly held
company on October 1, 1970, and was soon listed on the New York Stock
Exchange. The first stock split occurred in May 1971 at a price of $47 per
share. By this time, Walmart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Kansas,
Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma; it entered Tennessee in 1973 and
Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974. As the company moved into Texas in
1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 employees and total sales of
$340.3 million.
In the 1980s, Walmart continued to grow rapidly, and by the company's
25th anniversary in 1987, there were 1,198 stores with sales of
$15.9 billion and 200,000 associates. This year also marked the completion
of the company's satellite network, a $24 million investment linking all
operating units with the Bentonville office via two-way voice and data
transmission and one-way video communication. At the time, the
company was the largest private satellite network, allowing the corporate
office to track inventory and sales and to instantly communicate to
stores. In 1988, Walton stepped down as CEO and was replaced by David
Glass. Walton remained as Chairman of the Board.
With the contribution of its superstores, the company surpassed Toys "R"
Us in toy sales in the late 1990s.
1990–2005: Retail rise to multinational status

Logo used 1992–2008

While it was the third-largest retailer in the United States, Walmart was
more profitable than rivals Kmart and Sears by the late 1980s. By 1990, it
became the largest U.S. retailer by revenue.
Prior to the summer of 1990, Walmart had no presence on the West Coast
or in the Northeast (except for a single Sam's Club in New Jersey which
opened in November 1989), but in July and October that year, it opened
its first stores in California and Pennsylvania, respectively. By the mid-
1990s, it was far and away the most powerful retailer in the U.S. and
expanded into Mexico in 1991 and Canada in 1994. Walmart stores opened
throughout the rest of the U.S., with Vermont being the last state to get a
store in 1995.
The company also opened stores outside North America, entering South
America in 1995 with stores in Argentina and Brazil; and Europe in July
1999, buying Asda in the United Kingdom for US$10 billion.
In 1998, Walmart introduced the Neighborhood Market concept with
three stores in Arkansas. By 2005, estimates indicate that the company
controlled about 20 percent of the retail grocery and consumables
business.
In 2000, H. Lee Scott became Walmart's President and CEO as the
company's sales increased to $165 billion. In 2002, it was listed for the first
time as America's largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list, with
revenues of $219.8 billion and profits of $6.7 billion. It has remained there
every year except 2006, 2009, and 2012.
In 2005, Walmart reported US$312.4 billion in sales, more than 6,200
facilities around the world—including 3,800 stores in the United States and
2,800 elsewhere, employing more than 1.6 million associates. Its U.S.
presence grew so rapidly that only small pockets of the country remained
more than 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the nearest store.
As Walmart rapidly expanded into the world's largest corporation, many
critics worried about its effect on local communities, particularly small
towns with many "mom and pop" stores. There have been several studies
on the economic impact of Walmart on small towns and local businesses,
jobs, and taxpayers. In one, Kenneth Stone, a professor of economics
at Iowa State University, found that some small towns can lose almost half
of their retail trade within ten years of a Walmart store opening.
However, in another study, he compared the changes to what small town
shops had faced in the past—including the development of the railroads,
the advent of the Sears Roebuck catalog, and the arrival of shopping
malls—and concluded that shop owners who adapt to changes in the retail
market can thrive after Walmart arrives.
A later study in collaboration with Mississippi State University showed that
there are "both positive and negative impacts on existing stores in the area
where the new supercenter locates."
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, Walmart used
its logistics network to organize a rapid response to the disaster, donating
$20 million, 1,500 truckloads of merchandise, food for 100,000 meals, and
the promise of a job for every one of its displaced workers.
An independent study by Steven Horwitz of St. Lawrence University found
that Walmart, The Home Depot, and Lowe's made use of their local
knowledge about supply chains, infrastructure, decision makers and other
resources to provide emergency supplies and reopen stores well before
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began its
response. While the company was overall lauded for its quick response
amidst criticism of FEMA, several critics were quick to point out that there
still remained issues with the company's labor relations.

2005–2010: Initiatives

Solar modules mounted on a Walmart Supercenter in Caguas, Puerto Rico

Environmental initiatives
In November 2005, Walmart announced several environmental measures
to increase energy efficiency and improve its overall environmental
record, which had previously been lacking. The company's primary goals
included spending $500 million a year to increase fuel efficiency in
Walmart's truck fleet by 25 percent over three years and double it within
ten; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent in seven years;
reduce energy use at stores by 30 percent; and cut solid waste from U.S.
stores and Sam's Clubs by 25 percent in three years.

CEO Lee Scott said that Walmart's goal was to be a "good steward of the
environment" and ultimately use only renewable energy sources and
produce zero waste. The company also designed three new experimental
stores with wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels, biofuel-capable
boilers, water-cooled refrigerators, and xeriscape gardens.
In this time, Walmart also became the biggest seller of organic milk and
the biggest buyer of organic cotton in the world, while reducing packaging
and energy costs.
In 2007, the company worked with outside consultants to discover its total
environmental impact and find areas for improvement. Walmart created
its own electric company in Texas, Texas Retail Energy, planned to supply
its stores with cheap power purchased at wholesale prices. Through this
new venture, the company expected to save $15 million annually and also
to lay the groundwork and infrastructure to sell electricity to Texas
consumers in the future.
Branding and store design changes
In 2006, Walmart announced that it would remodel its U.S. stores to help
it appeal to a wider variety of demographics, including more affluent
shoppers. As part of the initiative, the company launched a new store in
Plano, Texas that included high-end electronics, jewelry, expensive wines
and a sushi bar.
On September 12, 2007, Walmart introduced new advertising with
the slogan, "Save money. Live better.", replacing "Always Low Prices,
Always", which it had used for the previous 19 years. Global Insight, which
conducted the research that supported the ads, found that
Walmart's price level reduction resulted in savings for consumers of $287
billion in 2006, which equated to $957 per person or $2,500 per household
(up 7.3 percent from the 2004 savings estimate of $2,329).
On June 30, 2008, Walmart removed the hyphen from its logo and replaced
the star with a Spark symbol that resembles a sunburst, flower, or star. The
new logo received mixed reviews from design critics who questioned
whether the new logo was as bold as those of competitors, such as
the Target bullseye, or as instantly recognizable as the previous company
logo, which was used for 18 years. The new logo made its debut on the
company's website on July 1, 2008, and its U.S. locations updated store
logos in the fall of 2008. Walmart Canada started to adopt the logo for its
stores in early 2009.
Acquisitions and employee benefits
On March 20, 2009, Walmart announced that it was paying a
combined US$933.6 million in bonuses to every full and part-time hourly
worker. This was in addition to $788.8 million in profit
sharing, 401(k) pension contributions, hundreds of millions of dollars in
merchandise discounts, and contributions to the employees' stock
purchase plan. While the economy at large was in an ongoing recession,
Walmart reported solid financial figures for the most recent fiscal year
(ending January 31, 2009), with $401.2 billion in net sales, a gain of
7.2 percent from the prior year. Income from continuing operations
increased 3 percent to $13.3 billion, and earnings per share rose 6 percent
to $3.35.
On February 22, 2010, the company confirmed it was acquiring video
streaming company Vudu, Inc. for an estimated $100 million.
2011–present: Continued developments

Truck converted to run on biofuel

Walmart's truck fleet logs millions of miles each year, and the company
planned to double the fleet's efficiency between 2005 and 2015. The truck
pictured on the right is one of 15 based at Walmart's Buckeye, Arizona,
distribution center that was converted to run on biofuel from reclaimed
cooking grease made during food preparation at Walmart stores.
In January 2011, Walmart announced a program to improve the nutritional
value of its store brands over five years, gradually reducing the amount of
salt and sugar and completely eliminating trans fat. Walmart also
promised to negotiate with suppliers with respect to nutritional issues,
reduce prices for whole foods and vegetables, and open stores in low-
income areas, so-called "food deserts", where there are no
supermarkets. On April 23, 2011, the company announced that it was
testing its new "Walmart To Go" home delivery system where customers
will be able to order specific items offered on their website. The initial test
was in San Jose, California, and the company has not yet said whether the
delivery system will be rolled out nationwide.
On November 14, 2012, Walmart launched its first mail subscription
service called Goodies. Customers pay a $7 monthly subscription for five
to eight delivered food samples each month, so they can try new foods.
The service shut down in late 2013.
In August 2013, the firm announced it was in talks to acquire a majority
stake in the Kenya-based supermarket chain, Naivas.
In June 2014, some Walmart employees went on strike in major U.S. cities
demanding higher wages. In July 2014, American actor and
comedian Tracy Morgan launched a lawsuit against Walmart seeking
punitive damages over a multi-car pile-up which the suit alleges was
caused by the driver of one of the firm's tractor-trailers who had not slept
for 24 hours. Morgan's limousine was apparently hit by the trailer, injuring
him and two fellow passengers and killing a fourth, fellow comedian James
McNair. Walmart settled with the McNair family for $10 million, while
admitting no liability. Morgan and Walmart reached a settlement in 2015
for an undisclosed amount, though Walmart later accused its insurers of
"bad faith" in refusing to pay the settlement.
In 2015, the company closed five stores on short notice for plumbing
repairs. However, employees and the United Food and Commercial
Workers International Union (UFCW) alleged some stores were closed in
retaliation for strikes aimed at increasing wages and improving working
conditions. The UFCW filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations
Board. All five stores have since reopened. On October 14, 2015, Walmart
saw its stock fall 10 percent. In 2015, Walmart was the biggest US
commercial producer of solar power with 142 MW capacity, and had
17 energy storage projects. This solar was primarily on rooftops, whereas
there is an additional 20,000 m2 for solar canopies over parking lots.
On January 15, 2016, Walmart announced it would close 269 stores in
2016, affecting 16,000 workers. One hundred and fifty-four of these stores
earmarked for closure were in the U.S. (150 Walmart U.S. stores, 115
Walmart International stores, and 4 Sam's Clubs). Ninety-five percent of
these U.S. stores were located, on average, 10 miles from another Walmart
store. The 269 stores represented less than 1 percent of global square
footage and revenue for the company. All 102 locations of Walmart
Express, which had been in a pilot program since 2011, were included in
the closures. Walmart planned to focus on "strengthening Supercenters,
optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business and
expanding pickup services for customers". In fiscal 2017, the company
plans to open between 50 and 60 Supercenters, 85 to 95 Neighborhood
Markets, 7 to 10 Sam's Clubs, and 200 to 240 international locations.
At the end of fiscal 2016, Walmart opened 38 Supercenters and relocated,
expanded or converted 21 discount stores into Supercenters, for a total of
59 Supercenters, and opened 69 Neighborhood Markets, 8 Sam's Clubs,
and 173 international locations, and relocated, expanded or converted 4
locations for a total of 177 international locations. On August 8, 2016,
Walmart announced a deal to acquire e-commerce website Jet.com for
US$3.3 billion Jet.com co-founder and CEO Marc Lore stayed on to run
Jet.com in addition to Walmart's existing U.S. e-commerce operation. The
acquisition was structured as a payout of $3 billion in cash, and an
additional $300 million in Walmart stock vested over time as part of an
incentive bonus plan for Jet.com executives. On October 19, 2016,
Walmart announced it would partner with IBM and Tsinghua University to
track the pork supply chain in China using blockchain.
On February 15, 2017, Walmart announced the acquisition of Moosejaw,
a leading online active outdoor retailer, for approximately $51 million. The
acquisition closed on February 13, 2017. On June 16, 2017, Walmart
agreed to acquire the men's apparel company Bonobos for $310 million in
an effort to expand its fashion holdings. As the deal's announcement
coincided with Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods Market, the stock
market reacted negatively, with Walmart's holdings on the NYSE falling by
6%. On September 29, 2017, Walmart acquired Parcel, a technology-
based, same-day and last-mile delivery company in Brooklyn. The
acquisition announcement saw Walmart shares rise more than 1%. On
December 6, 2017, Walmart announced that it will change its corporate
name to Walmart Inc. from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. effective February 1,
2018.
In March 2018, Walmart announced that it is producing its own brand
of meal kits in all of its stores that is priced under Blue Apron designed to
serve two people.
It was reported that Walmart is now looking at entering the subscription-
video space, hoping to compete with Netflix and Amazon. They have
enlisted the help of former Epix CEO, Mark Greenberg, to help develop a
low-cost subscription video-streaming service.
In September 2018, Walmart partnered with comedian and talk show
host Ellen DeGeneres to launch a new brand of women's apparel and
accessories called EV1.

Operating divisions
See also: List of assets owned by Walmart

Map of Walmart stores in the U.S., as of August 2010

Walmart's operations are organized into four divisions: Walmart U.S.,
Walmart International, Sam's Club and Global eCommerce.[97] The
company offers various retail formats throughout these divisions,
including supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs,
cash-and-carry stores, home improvement, specialty electronics,
restaurants, apparel stores, drugstores, convenience stores, and digital
retail.
Walmart U.S.
Walmart U.S. is the company's largest division, accounting for US$
298.38 billion, or 62.3 percent of total sales, for fiscal 2016. It consists of
three retail formats that have become commonplace in the United
States: Supercenters, Discount Stores, Neighborhood Markets, and other
small formats. The discount stores sell a variety of mostly non-grocery
products, though emphasis has now shifted towards supercenters, which
include more groceries. As of October 31, 2018, there are a total of 4,755
Walmart U.S. stores. In the United States, 90 percent of the population
resides within 10 miles of a Walmart store.
The president and CEO of Walmart U.S. is Greg Foran.
Walmart Supercenter

A Walmart Supercenter in Windham, Connecticut.

Walmart Supercenters, branded simply as "Walmart",
are hypermarkets with sizes varying from 69,000 to 260,000 square feet
(6,400 to 24,200 square meters), but averaging about 178,000 square feet
(16,500 square meters). These stock general merchandise and a full-
service supermarket, including meat and poultry, baked
goods, delicatessen, frozen foods, dairy products, garden produce, and
fresh seafood. Many Walmart Supercenters also have a garden center, pet
shop, pharmacy, Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo
processing lab, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops, such as cellular
phone stores, hair and nail salons, video rental stores, local bank branches
(such as Woodforest National Bank branches in newer locations), and fast
food outlets.
Many Walmart Supercenters have featured McDonald's restaurants, but in
2007, Walmart announced it would stop opening McDonald's restaurants
at most of their newer stores, most likely due to nutritional concerns. Most
locations that opened up after the announcement had Subway as their
restaurants, and some McDonald's inside the stores were replaced
with Subways. In some Canadian locations, Tim Hortons were opened.
Recently, in several Supercenters, like the Tallahassee, Florida location,
Walmart added Burger King to their locations, and the location in Glen
Burnie, Maryland, due to its past as a hypermarket called Leedmark, which
operated from May 1991 to January 1994, boasts an Auntie Anne's and an
Italian restaurant.
Some locations also have fuel stations which sell gasoline distributed
by Murphy USA (which spun off from Murphy Oil in 2013), Sunoco,
Inc. ("Optima"), the Tesoro Corporation ("Mirastar"), USA Gasoline, and
even now Walmart-branded gas stations.
The first Supercenter opened in Washington, Missouri, in 1988. A similar
concept, Hypermart USA, had opened a year earlier in Garland, Texas. All
Hypermart USA stores were later closed or converted into Supercenters.
As of October 31, 2018, there were 3,568 Walmart Supercenters in 49 of
the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Hawaii is the
only state to not have a Supercenter location. The largest Supercenter in
the world, covering 260,000 square feet (24,000 square meters) on two
floors, is located in Crossgates Commons in Albany, New York.
A typical supercenter sells approximately 120,000 items, compared to the
35 million products sold in Walmart's online store.
The "Supercenter" name has since been phased out, with these stores now
simply referred to as "Walmart", since the company introduced the new
Walmart logo in 2008. However, the branding is still used in Walmart's
Canadian stores (spelled as "Supercentre" in Canadian English).
Walmart Discount Store

The exterior of the Walmart Discount Store in Charlotte, North Carolina

Walmart Discount Stores, also branded as simply "Walmart", are discount
department stores with sizes varying from 30,000 to 206,000 square feet
(2,800 to 19,100 square meters), with the average store covering 105,000
square feet (9,800 square meters). They carry general merchandise and
limited groceries. Some newer and remodeled discount stores have an
expanded grocery department, similar to Target's PFresh department.
Many of these stores also feature a garden center, pharmacy, Tire & Lube
Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, a
bank branch, a cell phone store, and a fast food outlet. Some also have
gasoline stations. Discount Stores were Walmart's original concept, though
they have since been surpassed by Supercenters.
In 1990, Walmart opened its first Bud's Discount City location in
Bentonville. Bud's operated as a closeout store, much like Big Lots. Many
locations were opened to fulfill leases in shopping centers as Walmart
stores left and moved into newly built Supercenters. All of the Bud's
Discount City stores had closed or converted into Walmart Discount Stores
by 1997.
As of October 31, 2018, there were 388 Walmart Discount Stores in 41
states and Puerto Rico. Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, District of Columbia, West Virginia, and
Wyoming are the only states and territories where a discount store does
not operate.
Walmart Neighborhood Market

Walmart Neighborhood Market in Houston, Texas

Walmart Neighborhood Market, sometimes branded as "Neighborhood
Market by Walmart" or informally known as "Neighborhood Walmart", is
Walmart's chain of smaller grocery stores ranging from 28,000 to 65,000
square feet (2,600 to 6,000 square meters) and averaging about 42,000
square feet (3,900 square metres), about a fifth of the size of a Walmart
Supercenter. The first Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in 1998 (10
years later after the Supercenters were introduced), yet Walmart renewed
its focus on the smaller grocery store format in the 2010s.
The stores focus on three of Walmart's major sales categories: groceries,
which account for about 55 percent of the company's revenue, pharmacy,
and, at some stores, fuel. For groceries and consumables, the stores sell
fresh produce, deli and bakery items, prepared foods, meat, dairy, organic,
general grocery and frozen foods, in addition to cleaning products and pet
supplies. Some stores offer wine and beer sales and drive-through
pharmacies. Some stores, such as one at Midtown Center in Bentonville,
Arkansas, offer made-to-order pizza with a seating area for eating.
Customers can also use Walmart's site-to-store operation and pick up
online orders at Walmart Neighborhood Market stores.
Products at Walmart Neighborhood Market stores carry the same prices
as those at Walmart's larger supercenters. A Moody's analyst said the
wider company's pricing structure gives the chain of grocery stores a
"competitive advantage" over competitors Whole
Foods, Kroger and Trader Joe's.
Neighborhood Market stores expanded slowly at first as a way to fill gaps
between Walmart Supercenters and Discount Stores in existing markets. In
its first 12 years, the company opened about 180 Walmart Neighborhood
Markets. By 2010, Walmart said it was ready to accelerate its expansion
plans for the grocery stores. As of October 31, 2018, there were 699
Walmart Neighborhood Markets, each employing between 90 and 95 full-
time and part-time workers.
Former stores and concepts
2015 photo of a Walmart Express branded as a Walmart Neighborhood
Market in Alma, Georgia that closed in 2016
Walmart opened Supermercado de Walmart locations to appeal
to Hispanic communities in the United States. The first one, a 39,000-
square-foot (3,600-square-meter) store in the Spring Branch area
of Houston, opened on April 29, 2009. The store was a conversion of an
existing Walmart Neighborhood Market.] In 2009, another Supermercado
de Walmart opened in Phoenix, Arizona. Both locations closed in 2014. In
2009, Walmart opened "Mas Club", a warehouse retail operation
patterned after Sam's Club. Its lone store closed in 2014.
Walmart Express was a chain of smaller discount stores with a range of
services from groceries to check cashing and gasoline service. The concept
was focused on small towns deemed unable to support a larger store, and
large cities where space was at a premium. Walmart planned to build 15
to 20 Walmart Express stores, focusing on Arkansas, North Carolina and
Chicago, by the end of its fiscal year in January 2012. As of
September 2014, Walmart re-branded all of its Express format stores to
Neighborhood Markets in an effort to streamline its retail offer. It
continued to open new Express stores under the Neighborhood Market
name. As of October 31, 2018, there were 100 small-format stores in the
United States. These include Amigo (12 locations), E-Commerce
Acquisition / C-stores (68 locations), and other store formats (20
locations).
On January 15, 2016, Walmart announced that it would be closing 269
stores globally, including all 102 U.S. Walmart Express stores, including
those branded as Neighborhood Markets.
Initiatives
In September 2006, Walmart announced a pilot program to sell generic
drugs at $4 per prescription. The program was launched at stores in
the Tampa, Florida, area, and by January 2007 had been expanded to all
stores in Florida. While the average price of generics is $29 per
prescription, compared to $102 for name-brand drugs, Walmart maintains
that it is not selling at a loss, or providing them as an act of charity—
instead, they are using the same mechanisms of mass distribution that it
uses to bring lower prices to other products. Many of Walmart's low cost
generics are imported from India, where they are made by drug makers
that include Ranbaxy and Cipla.
On February 6, 2007, the company launched a "beta" version of a movie
download service, which sold about 3,000 films and television episodes
from all major studios and television networks. The service was
discontinued on December 21, 2007 due to low sales.
In 2008, Walmart started a pilot program in the small grocery store
concept called Marketside in the metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, area. The
four stores closed in 2011.
In 2015, Walmart began testing a free grocery pickup service, allowing
customers to select products online and choose their pickup time. At the
store, a Walmart employee loads the groceries into the customer's car. As
of December 17, 2017, the service is available in 39 U.S. states.
In May 2016, Walmart announced a change to ShippingPass, its three-day
shipping service, and that it will move from a three-day delivery to two-
day delivery to remain competitive with Amazon. Walmart priced it at 49
dollars per year, compared to Amazon Prime's 99-dollar-per-year price.
In June 2016, Walmart and Sam's Club announced that they would begin
testing a last-mile grocery delivery that used services including Uber, Lyft,
and Deliv, to bring customers' orders to their homes. Walmart customers
would be able to shop using the company's online grocery service at
grocery.walmart.com, then request delivery at checkout for a small fee.
The first tests were planned to go live in Denver and Phoenix. Walmart
announced on March 14, 2018 that it would expand online delivery to 100
metropolitan regions in the United States, the equivalent of 40 percent of
households, by the end of the year of 2018.
Walmart's Winemakers Selection private label wine was introduced in June
2018. From domestic and international sources, selected by an in-house
expert with the help of a small number of trusted distributors and
importers, they are notably good for inexpensive wine. Available in about
1,000 stores, the wines are identifiable by a large W in a banner on the
label.
Walmart International

Walmart international locations (former locations in red)

As of October 31, 2018, Walmart's international operations comprised
5,925 stores and 800,000 workers in 26 countries outside the United
States. There are wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
and the UK. With 2.2 million employees worldwide, the company is the
largest private employer in the U.S. and Mexico, and one of the largest in
Canada.[6] In fiscal 2016, Walmart's international division sales
were US$123.408 billion, or 25.8 percent of total sales.[13] International
retail units range from 8,900 to 186,000 square feet (830 to 17,280 square
metres), wholesale units range from 35,000 to 185,000 square feet (3,300
to 17,200 square metres) and other units (including drugstores and
convenience stores) range up to 2,400 square feet (220 square
metres).[11] Judith McKenna is the president and CEO.[136]
Argentina
Walmart Argentina was founded in 1995 and, as of October 31,
2018, operates 91 stores under the banners Walmart Supercenter (31
locations), Changomas (52 locations), and Mi Changomas (8 locations).
Central America
Walmart also owns 51 percent of the Central American Retail Holding
Company (CARHCO), which, as of October 31, 2018, consists of 244 stores
in Guatemala (under the Paiz [26 locations], Walmart Supercenter [10
locations], Despensa Familiar [167 locations], and Maxi Dispensa [41
locations] banners), 96 stores in El Salvador (under the Despensa Familiar
[63 locations], La Despensa de Don Juan [17 locations], Walmart
Supercenter [5 locations], and Maxi Despensa [11 locations] banners), 105
stores in Honduras (including the Paiz [8 locations], Walmart Supercenter
[3 locations], Dispensa Familiar [68 locations], and Maxi Despensa [26
locations] banners), 103 stores in Nicaragua (including the Pali [73
locations], La Unión [8 locations], Maxi Pali [20 locations], and Walmart
Supercenter [2 locations] banners), and 252 stores in Costa Rica (including
the Maxi Pali [41 locations], Mas X Menos [36 locations], Walmart
Supercenter [11 locations], and Pali [164 locations] banners).
Chile
In January 2009, the company acquired a controlling interest in the largest
grocer in Chile, Distribución y Servicio D&S SA. In 2010, the company was
renamed Walmart Chile. As of October 31, 2018, Walmart Chile operates
385 stores under the banners Lider Hiper (90 locations), Lider Express (95
locations), Superbodega Acuenta (114 locations), Ekono (79 locations), and
Central Mayorista (7 locations).
Mexico
Main article: Walmart de México y Centroamérica

As of October 31, 2018, Walmart's Mexico division, the largest outside the
U.S., consisted of 2,397 stores. Walmart in Mexico operates Walmart
Supercenter (273 locations), Sam's Club (163 locations), Bodega Aurrera
(510 locations), Mi Bodega Aurrera (355 locations), Bodega Aurrera
Express (1,001 locations), and Superama (95 locations).
Canada
Main article: Walmart Canada

Walmart Supercentre in Richmond Hill, Canada

Walmart has operated in Canada since it acquired 122 stores comprising
the Woolco division of Woolworth Canada, Inc in 1994. As of October 31,
2018, it operates 410 locations (including 336 supercentres and 74
discount stores) and, as of June 2015, it employs 89,358 people, with a
local home office in Mississauga, Ontario. Walmart Canada's first three
Supercentres (spelled in Canadian English) opened in November 2006
in Ancaster, London, and Stouffville, Ontario. The 100th Canadian
Supercentre opened in July 2010, in Victoria, British Columbia.
In 2010, Walmart Canada Bank was introduced with the launch of the
Walmart Rewards MasterCard.
United Kingdom
Main article: Asda

Walmart's UK subsidiary, Asda

Walmart's UK subsidiary Asda (which retained its name after being
acquired by Walmart) is based in Leeds and accounted for 42.7 percent of
2006 sales of Walmart's international division. In contrast to the U.S.
operations, Asda was originally and still remains primarily a grocery chain,
but with a stronger focus on non-food items than most UK supermarket
chains other than Tesco. As of October 31, 2018, Asda had 635
stores, including 147 from the 2010 acquisition of Netto UK.
In addition to small suburban Asda Supermarkets, which has 211
locations, larger stores are branded Supercentres, which has 32
locations. Other banners include Asda Superstores (341 locations), Asda
Living (33 locations), and Asda Petrol Fueling Station (18 locations). In July
2015, Asda updated its logo featuring the Walmart Asterisks behind the
first 'A' in the Logo. In May 2018, Walmart announced plans to sell Asda to
rival Sainsburys for $10.1 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Walmart
gets a 42% stake in the combined company and about £3 billion in cash. [145]
Africa
On September 28, 2010, Walmart announced it would buy Massmart
Holdings Ltd. of Johannesburg, South Africa in a deal worth
over US$4 billion giving the company its first footprint in Africa. As of
October 31, 2018, it has 385 stores in South Africa (under the banners
Game Foodco [70 locations], CBW [49 locations], Game [49 locations],
Builders Express [45 locations], Builders Warehouse [33 locations],
Cambridge [43 locations], Dion Wired [23 locations], Rhino [19 locations],
Makro [21 locations], Builders Trade Depot [13 locations], Jumbo
[7 locations], and Builders Superstore [13 locations]), 11 stores in
Botswana (under the banners CBW [7 locations], Game Foodco
[2 locations], and Builders Warehouse [2 locations]), 2 stores in Ghana
under the banners Game (1 location) and Game Foodco (1
location), 1 store in Kenya (under the Game Foodco banner), 3 stores in
Lesotho (under the banners CBW [2 locations] and Game Foodco
[1 location]), 2 stores in Malawi (under the Game banner), 6 stores in
Mozambique (under the banners Builders Warehouse [2 locations], Game
Foodco [2 locations], CBW [1 location], and Builders Express [1 location]),
4 stores in Namibia (under the banners Game Foodco [2 locations], Game
[1 location], and CBW [1 location]), 5 stores in Nigeria (under the banners
Game [4 locations] and Game Foodco [1 location], 1 store in Swaziland
(under the CBW banner), 1 store in Tanzania (under the Game
banner), 1 store in Uganda (under the Game banner), and 7 stores in
Zambia (under the banners CBW [1 location], Game [3 locations], Builders
Warehouse [2 locations], and Builders Express [1 location]).
China

A Walmart in Hangzhou, China

Walmart has joint ventures in China and several majority-owned
subsidiaries. As of October 31, 2018, Walmart China operates 424 stores
under the Walmart Supercenter (399 locations), Sam's Club (22 locations)
and Neighborhood Market (3 locations) banners.
In February 2012, Walmart announced that the company raised its stake
to 51 percent in Chinese online supermarket Yihaodian to tap rising
consumer wealth and help the company offer more products. Walmart
took full ownership in July 2015.
Japan
In Japan, Walmart owns 100 percent of Seiyu as of 2008. As of October 31,
2018, there are 333 stores under the Seiyu (Hypermarket) (88 locations),
Seiyu (Supermarket) (237 locations), Seiyu (General Merchandise)
(1 location), and Livin (7 locations) banners.
India
In November 2006, the company announced a joint venture with Bharti
Enterprises to operate in India. As foreign corporations were not allowed
to enter the retail sector directly, Walmart operated through franchises
and handled the wholesale end of the business. The partnership involved
two joint ventures—Bharti manages the front end, involving opening of
retail outlets while Walmart takes care of the back end, such as cold
chains and logistics.
Walmart operates stores in India under the name Best Price Modern
Wholesale. The first store opened in Amritsar on May 30, 2009. On
September 14, 2012, the Government of India approved 51 percent FDI in
multi-brand retails, subject to approval by individual states, effective
September 20, 2012. Scott Price, Walmart's president and CEO for Asia,
told The Wall Street Journal that the company would be able to start
opening Walmart stores in India within two years. Expansion into India
faced some significant problems. In November 2012, Walmart admitted to
spending US$25 million lobbying the Indian National Congress; lobbying is
conventionally considered bribery in India. Walmart is conducting an
internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act. Bharti Walmart suspended a number of employees,
rumored to include its CFO and legal team, to ensure "a complete and
thorough investigation". As of October 31, 2018, there are 21 Best Price
locations. In October 2013, Bharti and Walmart separated to pursue
business independently.
On May 9, 2018, Walmart announced its intent to acquire a 77% majority
stake in the Indian e-commerce company Flipkart for $16 billion, in a deal
that was completed on August 18, 2018.
Setbacks
In the mid-1990s, Walmart tried with a large financial investment to get a
foothold in the German retail market. In 1997, Walmart took over the
supermarket chain Wertkauf with its 21 stores for DM 750 million and the
following year Walmart acquired 74 Interspar stores for DM 1.3 billion. The
German market at this point was an oligopoly with high competition
among companies which used a similar low price strategy as Walmart. As
a result, Walmart's low price strategy yielded no competitive advantage.
Walmart's corporate culture was not viewed positively among employees
and customers, particularly Walmart's "statement of ethics", which
restricted relationships between employees and led to a public discussion
in the media, resulting in a bad reputation among customers. In July 2006,
Walmart announced its withdrawal from Germany due to sustained losses.
The stores were sold to the German company Metro during Walmart's
fiscal third quarter. Walmart did not disclose its losses from its German
investment, but they were estimated to be around €3 billion.

Bompreço in Natal, Brazil

In 2004, Walmart bought the 118 stores in the Bompreço supermarket
chain in northeastern Brazil. In late 2005, it took control of the Brazilian
operations of Sonae Distribution Group through its new subsidiary, WMS
Supermercados do Brasil, thus acquiring control of the Nacional and
Mercadorama supermarket chains, the leaders in the Rio Grande do
Sul and Paraná states, respectively. None of these stores were rebranded.
As of January 2014, Walmart operated 61 Bompreço supermarkets,
39 Hiper Bompreço stores. It also ran 57 Walmart Supercenters, 27 Sam's
Clubs, and 174 Todo Dia stores. With the acquisition of Bompreço and
Sonae, by 2010, Walmart was the third-largest supermarket chain in Brazil,
behind Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar.
Walmart Brasil, the operating company, has its head office in Barueri, São
Paulo State, and regional offices in Curitiba, Paraná; Porto Alegre, Rio
Grande do Sul; Recife, Pernambuco; and Salvador, Bahia. Walmart Brasil
operates under the banners Todo Dia, Nacional, Bompreço, Walmart
Supercenter, Maxxi Atacado, Hipermercado Big, Hiper Bompreço, Sam's
Club, Mercadorama, Walmart Posto (Gas Station), Supermercado Todo
Dia, and Hiper Todo Dia.
Recently, the comnpany started the conversion process of all Hiper
Bompreço and Big stores into Walmart Supercenters and Bompreço,
Nacional and Mercadorama stores into the Walmart Supermercado brand.
Since August 2018, Walmart Inc. only holds a minority stake in Walmart
Brasil, with 20% of the company's shares, and private equity firm Advent
International holding 80% ownership of the company.
Corruption charges
An April 2012 investigation by The New York Times reported the
allegations of a former executive of Walmart de Mexico that, in September
2005, the company had paid bribes via local fixers to officials throughout
Mexico in exchange for construction permits, information, and other
favors, which gave Walmart a substantial advantage over competitors.

Walmart investigators found credible evidence that Mexican and American

laws had been broken. Concerns were also raised that Walmart executives
in the United States had "hushed up" the allegations. A follow-up
investigation by The New York Times, published December 17, 2012,
revealed evidence that regulatory permission for siting, construction, and
operation of nineteen stores had been obtained through bribery. There
was evidence that a bribe of US$52,000 was paid to change a zoning map,
which enabled the opening of a Walmart store a mile from a historical site
in San Juan Teotihuacán in 2004.
After the initial article was released, Walmart released a statement
denying the allegations and describing its anti-corruption policy. While an
official Walmart report states that it had found no evidence of corruption,
the article alleges that previous internal reports had indeed turned up such
evidence before the story became public.
Forbes magazine contributor Adam Hartung also commented that the
bribery scandal was a reflection of Walmart's "serious management and
strategy troubles", stating, "scandals are now common place . Each
scandal points out that Walmart's strategy is harder to navigate and is
running into big problems".
In 2012, there was an incident with CJ's Seafood, a crawfish processing firm
in Louisiana that was partnered with Walmart, that eventually gained
media attention for the mistreatment of its 40 H-2B visa workers from
Mexico. These workers experienced harsh living conditions in tightly
packed trailers outside of the work facility, physical threats, verbal abuse
and were forced to work day-long shifts. Many of the workers were afraid
to take action about the abuse due to the fact that the manager
threatened the lives of their family members in the U.S. and Mexico if the
abuse were to be reported. Eight of the workers confronted management
at CJ's Seafood about the mistreatment; however, the management
denied the abuse allegations and the workers went on strike. The workers
then took their stories to Walmart due to their partnership with CJ's. While
Walmart was investigating the situation, the workers collected 150,000
signatures of supporters who agreed that Walmart should stand by the
workers and take action. In June 2012, the visa workers held a protest and
day-long hunger strike outside of the apartment building where a Walmart
board member resided. Following this protest, Walmart announced its
final decision to no longer work with CJ's Seafood. Less than a month later,
the Department of Labor fined CJ's Seafood "approximately $460,000 in
back-pay, safety violations, wage and hour violations, civil damages and
fines for abuses to the H-2B program. The company has since shut down."

As of December 2012, internal investigations were ongoing into possible

violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Walmart has invested US$
99 million on internal investigations, which expanded beyond Mexico to
implicate operations in China, Brazil, and India. The case has added fuel to
the debate as to whether foreign investment will result in increased
prosperity, or if it merely allows local retail trade and economic policy to
be taken over by "foreign financial and corporate interests".

Sam's Club
Main article: Sam's Club
The Sam's Club store in Maplewood, Missouri
Sam's Club is a chain of warehouse clubs that sell groceries and general
merchandise, often in bulk. The first Sam's Club was opened by Walmart,
Inc. in 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma under the name "Sam's Wholesale
Club". The chain was named after its founder Sam Walton. As of October
31, 2018, Sam's Club operated 597 membership warehouse clubs and
accounted for about 13% of Walmart's revenue. John Furner has been the
CEO of Sam's Club since early 2017.
Global eCommerce
Based in San Bruno, California, Walmart's Global eCommerce division
provides online retailing for Walmart, Sam's Club, Asda, and all other
international brands. There are several locations in the United States in
California and Oregon: San Bruno, Sunnyvale, Brisbane, and Portland.
Locations outside of the United States
include Shanghai (China), Leeds (United Kingdom), and Bangalore (India).
Marc Lore is the president and CEO.
Subsidiaries
Vudu

Vudu logo
In February 2010, Walmart agreed to buy Vudu, a Silicon Valley start-up
whose online movie service is being built into an increasing number of
televisions and Blu-ray players. Terms of the acquisition were not
disclosed, but a person briefed on the deal said the price for the company,
which raised US$60 million in capital, was over US$100 million. Vudu is the
third-most-popular online movie service, with a market share of 5.3
percent.
Private label brands
Main article: List of Walmart brands

About 40 percent of products sold in Walmart are private label store

brands, which are produced for the company through contracts with
manufacturers. Walmart began offering private label brands in 1991, with
the launch of Sam's Choice, a line of drinks produced by Cott Beverages for
Walmart. Sam's Choice quickly became popular and by 1993, was the third-
most-popular beverage brand in the United States. Other Walmart brands
include Great Value and Equate in the U.S. and Canada and Smart Price in
Britain. A 2006 study talked of "the magnitude of mind-share Walmart
appears to hold in the shoppers' minds when it comes to the awareness of
private label brands and retailers."
Entertainment
In 2010, the company teamed with Procter & Gamble to produce Secrets
of the Mountain and The Jensen Project, two-hour family movies which
featured the characters using Walmart and Procter & Gamble-branded
products. The Jensen Project also featured a preview of a product to be
released in several months in Walmart stores. A third movie, A Walk in My
Shoes, also aired in 2010 and a fourth is in production. Walmart's director
of brand marketing also serves as co-chair of the Association of National
Advertisers's Alliance for Family Entertainment.
Online commerce acquisitions and plans
In September 2016, Walmart purchased e-commerce company Jet.com,
founded in 2014 by Marc Lore, to start competing with Amazon.com.
Jet.com has acquired its own share of online retailers such as Hayneedle in
March 2016, Shoebuy.com in December 2016, and ModCloth in March
2017. In New York where, as of 2018, Jet operates, Parcel, a delivery
service, was acquired September 29, 2017.
On February 15, 2017, Walmart acquired Moosejaw, an online active
outdoor retailer, for approximately $51 million. Moosejaw brought with it
partnerships with more than 400 brands, including Patagonia, The North
Face, Marmot, and Arc'teryx.
Marc Lore, Walmart's U.S. e-commerce CEO, said that Walmart's existing
physical infrastructure of almost 5,000 stores around the U.S. will enhance
their digital expansion by doubling as warehouses for e-commerce without
increasing overhead. As of 2017, Walmart offers in-store pickup for online
orders at 1,000 stores with plans to eventually expand the service to all of
its stores.
On May 9, 2018, Walmart announced its intent to acquire a 77%
controlling stake in the Indian e-commerce website Flipkart for $16
billion (beating bids by Amazon.com), subject to regulatory approval.
Following its completion, the website's management will report to Marc
Lore. Completion of the deal was announced on August 18, 2018.
Corporate affairs

Home office in Bentonville, Arkansas

Walmart is headquartered in the Walmart Home Office complex in
Bentonville, Arkansas. The company's business model is based on selling a
wide variety of general merchandise at low prices. Doug McMillon became
Walmart's CEO on February 1, 2014. He has also worked as the head of
Sam's Club and Walmart International. The company refers to its
employees as "associates". All Walmart stores in the U.S. and Canada also
have designated "greeters" at the entrance, a practice pioneered by Sam
Walton and later imitated by other retailers. Greeters are trained to help
shoppers find what they want and answer their questions.
For many years, associates were identified in the store by their signature
blue vest, but this practice was discontinued in June 2007 and replaced
with khaki pants and polo shirts. The wardrobe change was part of a larger
corporate overhaul to increase sales and rejuvenate the company's stock
price. In September 2014, the uniform was again updated to bring back a
vest (paid for by the company) for store employees over the same polos
and khaki or black pants paid for by the employee.
The vest is navy blue for Walmart employees at Supercenters and discount
stores, lime green for Walmart Neighborhood Market employees and
yellow for self check out associates; door greeters and customer service
managers. Both state "Proud Walmart Associate" on the left breast and
the "Spark" logo covering the back. Reportedly one of the main reasons
the vest was reintroduced was that some customers had trouble
identifying employees. In 2016, self-checkout associates, door greeters
and customer service managers began wearing a yellow vest to be better
seen by customers. By requiring employees to wear uniforms that are
made up of standard "street wear", Walmart is not required to purchase
or reimbursement employees which is required in some states, as long as
that clothing can be worn elsewhere. Businesses are only legally required
to pay for branded shirts and pants or clothes that would be difficult to
wear outside of work.
Unlike many other retailers, Walmart does not charge slotting fees to
suppliers for their products to appear in the store. Instead, it focuses on
selling more-popular products and provides incentives for store managers
to drop unpopular products.
On September 14, 2006, the company announced that it would phase out
its layaway program, citing declining use and increased costs. Layaway
ceased on November 19, 2006, and required merchandise pickup by
December 8, 2006. Walmart now focuses on other payment options, such
as increased use of six- and twelve-month, zero-interest financing. The
layaway location in most stores is now used for Walmart's Site-To-Store
 program, which was introduced in March 2007. This
enables walmart.com customers to buy goods online with a free shipping
option, and have goods shipped to the nearest store for pickup. Walmart
continues to offer seasonal Layaway on select categories from late
summer through early Christmas and year-round in their jewelry
department.
On September 15, 2017, Walmart announced that it would build a new
headquarters in Bentonville to replace its current 1971 building and
consolidate operations that have spread out to 20 different buildings
throughout Bentonville.
Finance and governance
For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2015, Walmart reported net
income of US$17 billion on $485.7 billion of revenue. The company's
international operations accounted for $197.7 billion, or 40.7 percent, of
sales. Walmart is the world's 18th-largest public corporation, according to
the Forbes Global 2000 list, and the largest public corporation when
ranked by revenue.
Walmart is governed by a eleven-member board of directors elected
annually by shareholders. Gregory B. Penner, son-in-law of S. Robson
Walton and the grandson-in-law of Sam Walton, serves as chairman of the
board. Doug McMillon serves as president and chief executive officer.
Current members of the board are:

 Gregory B. Penner, chairman of the board of directors of Walmart Inc. and

general partner of Madrone Capital Partners
 Stephen J. Easterbrook, president, CEO and member of the board of
directors of McDonald's Corporation
 Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor
 Timothy P. Flynn, retired CEO of KPMG International
 Carla A. Harris, Vice chairman of Wealth Management, head of
multicultural client strategy, managing director and senior client advisor
at Morgan Stanley
 Tom Horton, senior advisor at Warburg Pincus, LLC, and retired chairman
and CEO of American Airlines
 Marissa A. Mayer, Co-founder of Lumi Labs, Inc., and former president and
CEO of Yahoo!, Inc.
 Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart
 Steven S. Reinemund, retired dean of business at Wake Forest
University and retired chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Inc.
 S. Robson "Rob" Walton, retired chairman of the board of directors of
Walmart Inc.
 Steuart Walton, founder of RZC Investments, LLC.
Notable former members of the board include Hillary Clinton (1985–
1992) and Tom Coughlin (2003–2004), the latter having served as vice
chairman. Clinton left the board before the 1992 U.S. presidential election,
and Coughlin left in December 2005 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and
tax evasion for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Walmart.
After Sam Walton's death in 1992, Don Soderquist, Chief Operating Officer
and Senior Vice Chairman, became known as the "Keeper of the Culture".

Walmart in India:
Wal-Mart India Private Limited (“Walmart India”) is the wholly owned
subsidiary of Walmart Inc., the world’s leading retailer renowned for its
efficiency and expertise in logistics, supply chain management and
sourcing. Walmart entered India in 2007 and opened its first store in
India in Amritsar, Punjab on 29th May, 2009. In 2013, Walmart India
became a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc.
Today, Walmart India owns and operates 23 B2B Cash & Carry stores under
the brand name of Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores (“Best Price”) in 9
states across the country. Our business in India is membership-based and
we have more than one million members, majority of whom are small
resellers and kiranas (mom & pop stores). Other business segments who
are our members are hotels, restaurants, offices and institutions. It
support them with high quality products at consistent, transparent and
competitive prices so that their businesses prosper. Walmart India opened
its first Fulfillment Center (FC) in Mumbai in November 2017 to enable
kiranas, resellers & other businesses in Mumbai and neighbouring areas to
get access to a wide & exciting assortment of merchandise relevant to
them without stepping out of their stores. The second FC was opened in
2018. The FCs have been curated keeping in mind the finer nuances of
convenience of small resellers, kiranas & other businesses – choice, value
and service that they expect – great quality and competitively priced
merchandise, doorstep delivery and easy payment solutions. The FCs
contribute to the State and local economies by creating over 1500 direct &
indirect local jobs, developing SME suppliers, and enabling small
businesses to succeed. This model is a definitive step towards building an
impactful distribution eco-system.
In addition to Cash & Carry business in India, Walmart contributes to the
Indian economy in many other ways, including through Global Sourcing
Centre and the Technology Centre, Walmart Labs and the most recent
investment in Flipkart.

WALMART AND FLIPKART: THE BIGGEST DEAL IN INDIAN E-COM

STARTUP MARKET :
Merger and Acquisition are strategic tools used time to time by companies
to get the cutting edge over competitors and capturing the market. In
recent past, the deal of Walmart and Flipkart was the biggest deal in the
startup E-com market. The 77% shares of Flipkart was taken by Walmart
by paying $16 billion. In this research paper the author is studying the
reasons and other future possibilities of Indian e-com market. As many
small but prominent players in the e-com market was acquired by Flipkart
now Walmart has done the same thing, one possible reason from many
other reasons to bypass the local rules and regulation for doing business
in the foreign country.
Merger and Acquisition are strategic tools used time to time by companies
to get the cutting edge over competitors and capturing the market. In the
world of competition big fish eats small fish and so on. The concept of
acquisition and merger is always backed up by the concept of strategy
thinking and growth of the market size, international foot print of the
organization. The proposed research work focuses on the working styles
of the Walmart and Flipkart, both are big giants at their respective places
both of them has acquired many companies to support their existing
business or to expand the territory of business.
Flipkart was the startup in the e-com industry for selling online goods by
fellows from IIT. Flipkart was funded by many funding giants
internationally and it became an example for successful e-com startup.
Walmart is giant in the retail store with multinational presence and
acquired many companies in different regions of the world to operate and
grab the market share to beat the competition.
The case study is running around the e-commerce and commerce like
online and offline market with competitor like Amazon and others. Two
players Walmart and Flipkart have their strong position over their
respective places in terms of market capture and sales other side of the
coin reflects the investors who had put their money in the venture like
Tiger Global, Softbank etc. the deal become biggest deal due to
strong presence of Amazon in the game.
ACQUISITION DONE BY WALMART
Walmart has continuously grabbing the market share all over the world by
acquiring the various origination to mark the presence all over the world,
acquisition is one of the best strategy a company can execute. The price of
the deals are less than if we compare the volume or the market
capitalization done by the Walmart. By expanding the business and
acquiring the various companies all over the world Walmart has beaten
the competition. The following table shows the various acquire
organization taken over by Walmart.

Acquired Acquire Date Price Transaction Date

Organization

Flipkart 9-May-2018 $ 16 B Flipkart acquire by Walmart

Parcel 3-Oct-2017 - Parcel acquire by Walmart

Bonobos 16-Jun-2017 $ 310 M Bonobos acquire by Walmart

Moosejaw 15-Feb-2017 $ 51 M Moosejaw acquire by Walmart

Shoes.com 5-Jan-2017 $ 70 M Shoes.com acquire by Walmart

Jet 8-Aug-2016 $3B Jet acquire by Walmart

Yihaodian 232-Jul-2015 - Yihaodian acquire by Walmart

Table shows the various acquire organization taken over by Walmart.

THE DEAL: WALMART AND FLIPKART

Walmart, the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the world acquired a 77
percent stake in India’s Flipkart for $16 billion, marking the beginning of its
first real battle with Amazon in an emerging market. It starts with the size
of India — it’s the second-most-populous country in the world, just behind
China. Of course, that size alone doesn’t matter — rather, it’s the shifting
behavior of Indian consumers.
India is home to a growing middle class, fueling household spending
growth on par with that of China — and at a faster clip than the more
mature U.S. market.
With a fragmented brick-and-mortar retail market in the country, more of
that spending is gravitating online where the Indian shopper can purchase
a wide range of products in one spot — whether on Flipkart or Amazon. In
2017, consumers in India spent $21 billion on e-commerce, making it the
10thbiggest e-commerce market in the world, according to data from
digital research firm eMarketer.
The deal, having 77 percent stake in the Indian e-com company has many
reasons for Walmart why an Indian company, Indian market, and e-
commerce market. One of the strongest reason may be presence of
Amazon in the Indian market and global rival of Walmart. Walmart-Flipkart
deal would give a big push to the e-commerce market— stimated to grow
from a share of 2-2.5% of the retail market to about 30% in 10 years—and
thereby act like a force multiplier for the start-up ecosystem.
This deal is a good news for the future e-com market and new startups to
mark their presence in the international and national market, many
startups founded and some of them are successful, and Flipkart is one of
those successful Indian startup.