Walmart India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc, plans to expand its footprint in Uttar Pradesh by opening six more ‘Best Price’ modern wholesale stores in the state, a senior company official said on Monday.
The places where the brick-and-mortar stores are proposed to be set up include Varanasi, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Kanpur and Aligarh. Presently Walmart has four stores in UP — two in Lucknow and one each in Meerut and Agra.
“Talks are on with the UP government to open new stores in the state and we expect to get the approval soon,” said Walmart India vice-president (Operations North) Vijeet Singh Shekhawat in Lucknow.
Walmart also has a fulfilment centre in Lucknow to cater to business needs of underserved small businesses such as kiranas/resellers, offices and institutions besides hotels, restaurants and caterers.
US-based retail MNC Walmart has bolstered the local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) procurement ahead of Diwali, a senior company official said here on Monday.
The local MSME sourcing is to cater both Diwali gifting options and staple consumer and food items.
“We are getting good ‘Diwali’ response as we expand our basket of locally-sourced goods in Uttar Pradesh and other states, especially for Diwali gifting,” Shekhawat said.
He said the company was sourcing a range of food items made in UP, including pickles, wheat flour, jams and sweet items, apart from traditional handicraft goods such as brassware from Moradabad and aluminium items from Hathras.
Indigenous goods are also being sourced from Jaipur, Panipat, Sholapur and Ahmedabad, among other places, he added.
