Walmart CEO Highlights India as a Key Growth Market for Global Commerce

Walmart Sees India as a Key Global Market Opportunity

India represents one of the most dynamic opportunities in global commerce, with the US-based retail giant Walmart Inc. having sourced goods worth USD 40 billion from the country so far. According to Walmart Inc. President and CEO John Furner, the company is focusing on strengthening entrepreneur and supplier capabilities.

Walmart, which had earlier announced plans to source goods from India worth up to USD 10 billion per year by 2027, is working to improve compliance and quality standards, and help scale manufacturing so more Indian businesses are ready to export. Under its Vriddhi initiative, the company has supported the growth of over 1.15 lakh entrepreneurs, helping them to modernize, expand, and reach their domestic ambitions.

As part of its efforts to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Walmart is working to raise compliance and quality standards, and to scale manufacturing. This is expected to enable more Indian businesses to export their goods globally. The company's Vriddhi initiative is designed to support the growth of MSMEs, with a goal of supporting a total of 170,000 MSMEs by 2028.

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Walmart has a long history of working in India, having sourced goods worth over USD 30 billion from the Indian market in the last two decades for its global operations. The company acquired a 77 per cent stake in homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart in a USD 16 billion deal in 2018.

Walmart has hosted the second edition of its Growth Summit in New Delhi, which convened export-ready businesses, MSMEs, digital-first brands, and supply chain partners to explore growth opportunities across domestic and international markets. The event follows regional Growth Summit events in Jaipur and Coimbatore, held in collaboration with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Government of India, and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

Furner, who took charge of the Bentonville-headquartered firm in February, is on his maiden visit to India. Earlier this year, PhonePe, a Walmart-backed fintech company, filed draft papers for its initial public offering. Walmart's efforts in India are expected to continue to grow in the coming year, with more regional Growth Summit events planned.

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