Walmart Expands Tech Presence in India with Second GCC in Chennai

Walmart is expanding its presence in India by establishing its second Global Capability Center (GCC) in Chennai. The company has leased 465,000 square feet of office space at the International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC) to house teams working on data engineering, Al, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.

This move complements Walmart's existing GCC in Bengaluru and reinforces India's role as a key innovation hub for the retail giant.

The Chennai facility will accommodate 4,500 employees and is expected to enhance Walmart's global tech operations. The lease agreement spans five years, with a monthly rent of ₹3.26 crore, and includes an annual 4% rent escalation.

Experts suggest that Chennai's IT corridor, known for its skilled talent and infrastructure, is becoming a preferred destination for GCCs. With this expansion, Walmart is leveraging India not just for back-office functions but as a strategic center for innovation.

Walmart's Bengaluru Global Capability Center (GCC) is a major hub for its global technology operations. The company leased 1 million square feet of office space from Prestige Group to establish this center. The Bengaluru GCC focuses on Al, data engineering, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, supporting Walmart's retail and e-commerce ecosystem.

The center plays a crucial role in supply chain optimization, customer experience enhancement, and operational efficiency through advanced Al models. Walmart has also partnered with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and IIT Madras to drive innovation in Al and machine learning.

India’s GCC market is projected to reach $99–105 billion, with over 2.4 million professionals employed across 1,800+ centers, reflecting a 17% year-on-year workforce growth.

Walmart and IISc Launches Center for Tech Excellence to Boost India's Research Ecosystem

Walmart Global Tech has recently announced a partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to establish the Walmart Centre for Tech Excellence. This initiative is aimed at strengthening the research ecosystem in India, particularly in the field of Computer Science.

The center will operate within IISc's Department of Computer Science and Automation and will focus on solving foundational problems in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), Computer Systems, and Theoretical Computer Science. It's designed to inspire top researchers in India by offering fellowships to highly skilled pre-doc, PhD, and post-doc candidates.

Moreover, the center plans to mentor students from tier 2 and tier 3 institutes through internships, workshops, and pre-doc opportunities, as well as collaborate with leading international universities.

This collaboration is part of Walmart's vision of leveraging technology to benefit communities and follows the launch of a similar Centre.

To recall, in February 2024, Walmart launched a Center for Tech Excellence at IIT Madras as well. Walmart’s partnerships with academia reinforce its commitment towards serving communities and helping them live better.

Walmart Buys Tiger Global’s Remaining Stake in Flipkart for $1.4 Bn, Valuing E-Commerce Giant at $35 Bn

US based retail behemoth Walmart has reportedly bought out hedge fund Tiger Global’s remaining investment in homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart. It has reportedly paid $1.4 billion for the remaining stake under Tiger Global’s bucket.

According to a report by WSJ, Tiger Global, which has cashed most of its Flipkart shares earlier, overall made a gain of $3.5 billion on an investment of $1.2 billion. With this, Tiger Global has now fully exited from Flipkart. 

This transaction valued Flipkart at $35 billion, which is a dip from $38 billion at the time it had sold stakes to SoftBank, Walmart and other investors in 2021.

For Tiger Global, Flipkart is the only Indian startup in which it had invested more than $1 billion. Between 2010 and 2015, the New York based hedge fund had invested nearly $1.2 billion in Flipkart.

Prior to this transaction, Tiger Global held 4% stake in Flipkart. 

In an another separate reporting by Economic Times, venture capital firm Accel also sold its 1% stake in Flipkart to Walmart.

The acquisition of the stakes from Tiger Global and Accel would result Walmart holding about 77% majority stake in Flipkart, up from 72% previously.

Flipkart was valued at $37.6 billion in a funding round in 2021 however the valuation dip by approximately $5 billion after the payments startup, PhonePe, got separated from Flipkart.

Flipkart acquired PhonePe in 2016 and moved the payments firm's entire base to the country from Singapore. In December last year, both the companies announced that Flipkart no longer own any stake in PhonePe.

PhonePe is now valued at $12 billion, as of May this year.

Walmart Files New Crypto and NFT Trademarks

Global retail giant Walmart has recently filed for new Crypto, Blockchain Trademarks Via Sam's Club, an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs that is owned and operated by Walmart Inc.

Founded by Walmart's founder Sam Walton himself, Sam's Club has filed for several blockchain-related patents. While it isn’t entirely clear what the retail giant’s plans are, the trademarks all related to cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and virtual reality.

Walmart is now jumping into the digital and blockchain bandwagon by filing for crypto and NFT trademarks. Sam's Club is now garnering the crypto waters as the retailer recently offered healthcare services that cater to the augmented reality and virtual space.

Walmart filed a couple of trademarks that will allow it to manage NFTS, offer digital goods, and also provide crypto-based software. Early in 2018, Walmart has already shown its interest to jump into the blockchain waters, specifically with the launch of Bulkcoin, which is exclusive to members of the Club.

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office website, Walmart filed for several new trademarks pertaining to blockchain services. The records numbered 97775159 and 97775152 are intended to enable the retail giant’s subsidiary Sam’s Club to offer numerous virtual goods.

The patents filings make mention of a digital currency and NFTs, as well as virtual and augmented reality healthcare and education. The trademarks reveal plans for the launch of a wallet, and perhaps other software aimed at organizing digital asset portfolios.

In early last year, multiple reports claimed that Walmart is preparing to enter the Metaverse as it filed for its first round of NFT-related trademarks already in late 2021.

To recall, in October 2021, Walmart started  selling Bitcoin in a pilot programme by hosting the ATM-like machines of Coinstar, a crypto wallet and crypto exchange company.

In 2018, Walmart has already shown its interest to jump into the blockchain waters, specifically with the launch of Bulkcoin, which is exclusive to members of the Club.

Walmart Offering Bitcoin with Coinstar ATMs As Part of A Pilot

The world's largest company by revenue, Walmart, has entered into selling cryptocurrency Bitcoin in a pilot programme by hosting the ATM-like machines of Coinstar, a crypto wallet and crypto exchange company.

According to CoinDesk, Shoppers can purchase the cryptocurrency at Coinstar machines inside the Walmart’s cavernous big box stores. A CoinDesk editor verified that the service works, buying a small amount of BTC at a Pennsylvania Walmart on Oct. 12.

Walmart communications director Molly Blakeman told CoinDesk via email -

Coinstar, in partnership with Coinme, has launched a pilot that allows its customers to use cash to purchase bitcoin,There are 200 Coinstar kiosks located inside Walmart stores across the United States that are part of this pilot.

Walmart shoppers who buy bitcoin at the Coinstar kiosks will be given a voucher that they must then redeem for bitcoin on Coinme — each bitcoin purchase carries a total of 11% in fees: transaction fee of 4% and a cash exchange fee of 7%, according to Coinstar. 

Coinstar® is the global leader in self-service coin counting with 23,000 kiosks in North America, Europe, and Japan. More than 800 billion coins have been processed since Coinstar’s inception in the early 1990s. In the United States, consumers can convert their change to cash, a no-fee eGift card, or donate to charity at supermarket, mass merchant, drug store, and financial institution kiosk locations.

To recall, in 2018 Indian crypto assets and blockchain startup Unocoin also unveiled India's first cryptocurrency ATM by installing one at Kemp Fort Mall in Bangalore. But it was seized by police authorities as cryptocurrencies was banned by central bank RBI, at that point of time though the real picture is still ambiguous.

Walmart Launches Its Own Private Label Insulin At Low-Prices

Retail giant Walmart has announced that it will sell a more affordable, private-label version of insulin at its pharmacies by mid-July. The new private label ReliOn™ NovoLog® Insulin (insulin aspart) injection, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, is available in Walmart pharmacies and Sam’s Club pharmacies across the United States.

ReliOn™ NovoLog® is a rapid-acting insulin analog used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes.

NovoLog ReliOn Box and Vial

Notably, 25% of insulin users skip doses due to high prices and Walmart claims that its new offering ---analog insulin vials ($72.88) and FlexPen® ($85.88) --- will save customers1 between 58% to 75% off the cash price of branded analog insulin products, which translates to a savings of up to $101 per branded vial or $251 per package of branded FlexPens®. Walmart’s more affordable option could win new customers to its healthcare business.

And, of course customers will need a prescription in order to purchase the these insulin products.

Walmart has just begun to play a major role in affordable healthcare with plans to open 4,000 health clinics by 2029. Its prescription program offers a monthly supply of drugs for $4 to compete with Amazon Pharmacy. As more players like Walmart enter the retail healthcare space, increased competition could drive down the costs of generic medicine.

Walmart Acquiring Israel-based Zeekit that Offers Virtual Fitting Room for Fashion Brands

Retail giant Walmart Inc. will acquire Israeli-based startup, Zeekit, which provides the virtual fitting room for fashion brands.

Female-founded Zeekit has developed the first dynamic virtual fitting room, giving every person the chance to see themselves in any item of clothing found on-line. Based on real-time image processing technology, Zeekit uses its patented technology to map a person's image into thousands of segments.

Denise Incandela, Walmart's executive vice president of apparel and private brands, announced about the acquisition in a blog post, "Virtual try-on is a game-changer and solves what has historically been one of the most difficult things to replicate online: understanding fit and how an item will actually look on you.Zeekit will help us deliver an inclusive, immersive and personalized experience for our diverse customer base."

Walmart Executive VP further said --

Given its scalability, we believe Zeekit's technology can also be used to create other fashion experiences, including the ability to build the world's largest virtual closet and mix and match clothing seamlessly," Incandela said. "These exciting technologies add a social element to the digital experience, allowing our customers to bring their unique personalities and preferences to shopping

Terms and financials were not announced or when Zeekit will be available on Walmart.com. To use Zeekit, customers upload a picture of themselves or use a representative model to virtually try on clothes.

Founded by dynamic trio -- Yael Vizel, Nir Appleboim and Alon Kristal, this had the revolutionary idea to take their extensive experience in developing real-time image processing technologies, computer vision, deep learning and artificial intelligence for military purposes and implement it in the world of fashion.

Post acquisition, the company's founding executives will join Walmart.

Flipkart Considering IPO in the US, with Expected Valuation of $35 Bn

Walmart-owned Flipkart is exploring going public in the US through a merger with a blank-check company as it seeks to quicken its listing process, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Bengaluru-based online retailer has been weighing a US initial public offering (IPO) and it’s now also looking at other options, the people said. Flipkart’s advisers have approached several SPACs, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is not public. Flipkart could seek a valuation of at least $35 billion in a blank-check transaction, the people said.

A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPACs), also known as a "blank check company" is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making it public without going through the traditional IPO process

Deliberations are at an early stage and Flipkart could still explore other options, the people said. A representative for Flipkart had no immediate comment.

The e-commerce firm is joining other Indian firms like online grocer Grofers in exploring a US listing through SPAC deals. ReNew Power last week agreed to merge with a US-listed special purpose acquisition company in a deal that will give India’s biggest renewable power producer an enterprise value of $8 billion.

Merging with SPACs, which are shell companies that raise money from public investors intending to acquire a business within two years, will allow Walmart to take its India unit to market at a faster pace than the usual IPO route. As many as 10 Indian companies could go public through SPAC deals before the end of the year, Utpal Oza, head of investment banking for India at Nomura Holdings Inc, said in an interview.

Flipkart, which is battling with e-commerce arch-rival Amazon.com Inc and Mukesh Ambani’s retail venture for market share in India, started operations in 2007 and now sells 80 million products on its platforms. Walmart acquired a majority stake in Flipkart in a $16 billion deal in 2018.

ORGINAL SOURCE - ECONOMICS TIMES

Walmart to Keep All India Stores Closed for Modi's 'Janta Curfew' call

Walmart India on Saturday said it will close all its stores and fulfilment centres on Sunday from 7 am to 9 pm to comply with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to the nation to observe a 'Janta Curfew' by staying indoors during this time period.

Many companies have announced plans to keep their operations closed during these hours as per the government directive, even as a large number of daily wage workers have been deprived of their regular earnings due to the economics disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Stores will resume normal operations and re-open for our members at the regular hours on March 23," Walmart India said in a statement.

Walmart India said it plays a critical role at this time to ensure that people in the community get continuous supply of essential food and hygiene products.

It urged members of its wholesale cash-and-carry stores to make purchases online on our website.

Walmart India operates a membership-based B2B wholesale business, where re-sellers, offices, institutions, hotels, restaurants and caterers as well as the army and paramilitary buy essential food and non-food items.

Walmart India said it welcomes Prime Minister Modi's appeal for social distancing and will comply with the 'Janta Curfew' announced by the Prime Minister on March 22.

"In compliance, Walmart India will close all its stores and fulfilment centres during the curfew hours on March 22. In order to ensure minimal disruption in supplies of essential items to the community, Walmart India has added more capacity to service orders that are placed through its website and app for delivery on March 24 and after," it added.

“We have a critical role to play in the community at this point and we take that most seriously. Walmart India's priorities at this time are to ensure the safety of our associates and customers, and minimise any disruption in the provision of essential items to the members of our community,” a spokesperson for Walmart India said.

While the members of Best Price cash-and-carry stores will not be able to physically visit stores on Sunday, Walmart India has put in place a series of measures to ensure supply of essentials to consumers in the wake of COVID-19.

"Our members can continue to place orders on our website without physically visiting the store. Our customer service staff are also being trained to assist more members in making purchases online. We are also reaching out to our members through our sales teams to take orders which can be delivered to them. We believe these efforts will enhance the safety of our customers and also ensure that they continue to get access to essential items safely and conveniently,” the spokesperson said.
“
"We would also like to express our gratitude to all doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, delivery professionals, government employees, grocery retail staff and all those people in critical jobs that selflessly and relentlessly continue to serve our community in this difficult time," the spokesperson said.

Walmart to Hire 150,000 Workers as Virus Spreads in US

Walmart plans to hire 150,000 people to meet increased demand during the coronavirus crisis and will pay out $365 million in bonuses, the US retail giant said.

"These roles will be temporary at first, but many will convert to permanent roles over time," it said.

The firm added it would pay $300 bonuses to full-time employees and $150 to those part-time.

Walmart said Thursday it wanted to reward them "for their hard work and dedication to serving customers in a time of an unprecedented national health crisis." It also plans to speed up payment of the next quarterly bonus payments, which will take its payout to nearly $550 million.

The hiring drive comes as travel restrictions and lockdown measures in various US states and cities to curb the spread of the virus have led people to stock up on basic foodstuffs and order more online.

Amazon has also announced plans to recruit an additional 100,000 workers in the United States to cope with the surge in internet shopping.

Meanwhile, many small businesses have to close, at least temporarily, and 70,000 people have been laid off in a single week across the country, according to the latest weekly unemployment benefit claims.

"We know millions of Americans who are usually employed at this time are temporarily out of work, and at the same time we're currently seeing strong demand in our stores," said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

The retail chain said it would speed up recruitment, cutting the application process time from two weeks to 24 hours. (AFP)

Walmart India Sees Spike in Sales, Imposes Quantity Restrictions on Hand Sanitizers

Amid the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, Walmart India on Wednesday said it has witnessed a spike in sales of items across categories such as personal care and hygiene as well as in few staples and processed food.

The company, which operates in B2B (business-to-business) segment here, is in touch with its supplier partners to ensure adequate stocking at its 'Best Price' stores, Walmart India said in a statement.       
Moreover, the company has also imposed quantity restrictions for purchase of certain sensitive categories like hand sanitizers, it said.   

"The company has witnessed a spike in sales of items across categories such as personal care and hygiene as well as a few staples and processed food. Walmart India is constantly in touch with its supplier partners to ensure adequate stocking at our Best Price stores," a Walmart India spokesperson said in the statement.

The company is also working towards identifying future bottlenecks, if they arise, to ensure that the supply chains remain intact.      

Walmart has also implemented comprehensive measures for safety and hygiene of its staff as precautions against COVID-19 (coronavirus), the statement said.       

Besides, Walmart is also maintaining "control over the number of members at its premises in order to maintain safe distance"       

Walmart India owns and operates 28 Best Price wholesale stores and 2 fulfillment centres in India. PTI KRH

Walmart Store in US got Infested with Bedbugs; Police is Now Probing It

A Walmart Supercenter in the US state of Pennsylvania is facing an unusual and expensive problem after someone intentionally released bedbugs in a men's changing room, according to a media report.

A manager at the store in Edinboro found a closed pill bottle with live bugs crawling inside and reported it to authorities Thursday, police said in a statement. The bottle was found inside a boy's jacket which was for sale.

"We take this seriously and are looking into this," a Walmart spokesperson told CNN. "We are fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation."

On Friday, health safety company Ecolab confirmed that the insects were bedbugs. A Walmart employee later found a second closed pill bottle containing dead bedbugs in the men's department, police said.

"A third-party pest management service has visited the store and we are working with them to assess next steps," the Walmart spokesperson said. "In the meantime, we have blocked off the impacted area."

State Police are investigating the matter and looking for the person or people responsible, they said.

Bedbugs are "small, flat, parasitic insects" that survive by feeding off the blood of people and animals as they sleep, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They do not spread disease, but can leave itchy bite marks which may lead to an allergic reaction for some people. While extremely small, bedbugs can live for months without feeding.

Bedbug infestations are also very expensive to fight. Professional extermination of bedbugs typically costs USD 200 to USD 1,500 per room and often fails, the report said.

Walmart India Appoints Sameer Aggarwal as Dy CEO

Retail major Walmart India has elevated its Chief Business Officer Sameer Aggarwal to the post of Deputy CEO.

Aggarwal's appointment comes into effect from Wednesday. He will report to Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer, the company said in a statement.

"Sameer Aggarwal has been appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Walmart India effective January 1, 2020," a Walmart India spokesperson said.

"He will continue reporting to Krish Iyer, President & CEO Walmart India and oversee operations, merchandising, people, marketing, real estate, kirana development program, digital, e-commerce and strategy," the spokesperson added.

Aggarwal has over two decades of experience across industries in general management, strategy, finance and mergers and acquisitions in various countries.

He holds an MBA degree from the London Business School and is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Aggarwal has also worked with McKinsey & Company UK and Australia as Associate for over seven years.

He joined Walmart India in April 2018 as EVP, chief strategy and administrative officer and was elevated as Chief Business Officer in December 2018.

Walmart India operates 28 modern wholesale stores under the brand name ‘Best Price'.

Besides, the company has three Fulfilment Centres, one each in Mumbai, Lucknow and Hyderabad.

Walmart India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based retailing giant Walmart Inc and came to India in 2007. PTI KRH

Walmart launches world's largest Blockchain for Industrial use

Walmart, the largest company in the world by revenue, is globally renowned for its leadership in saving its customers money so they can have a better life. This deep commitment has prompted it to be one the world’s leading investors in a wide range of innovations, particularly in using technology to increase efficiencies.

Now Walmart Canada (“Walmart”), in partnership with global blockchain leader DLT Labs^TM (DLT), has made another monumental leap ahead that sets the stage for a wave of innovation in industry. Walmart and DLT have designed and taken into live production the first industrial use of enterprise blockchain.

It has been placed at the heart of Walmart’s massive supply chain and has become the standard in managing its freight deliveries nationally. Despite the enormous and sometimes controversial coverage of blockchain, almost all efforts to use the underlying technology to date have been either related to cryptocurrency, or in experiments (often called proof-of-concepts). These experiments do not share information with, or connect to, core operations and the massive, existing information technology systems that run operations. Now Walmart and DLT have taken off the training wheels and proven the power of blockchain in industry.

Walmart and DLT have built and launched the world’s first and biggest full production blockchain solution for industrial application. The product is a freight and payment platform which creates real-time secure channels between Walmart and the carriers of its more than 500,000 deliveries of inventory across Canada each year.

Shipment data is tracked real-time, a huge range of charges are reconciled, invoices are calculated and created automatically, and payments are expedited – all with verified secure information. This represents a breakthrough in business process innovation applicable to any business process or industrial environment. It is the first tangible demonstration of how enterprise blockchain can dramatically improve operations and information management. The product was piloted in a close working relationship among Walmart, DLT and Bison Transport, and is now live within Walmart’s supply chain, with all carriers to be active by February 1, 2020.

This product enables the automatic synchronization and calculation of billions of data points (Canada figures):

• 400 stores nationwide


• 750,000 online customers daily


• 500,000+ deliveries annually


• 850+ million cases of merchandise shipped annually


• 4,500 in third-party fleet of associates and drivers


• Walmart Canada's own fleet of 180 tractors, 2,000 trailers and more than 350 drivers


• ~200 variable costs for EACH truck data points such as global positioning system (GPS) data, contracts, shipment, and accounting information

As transportation networks become increasingly interconnected, and products are embedded with computing devices that form the Internet of Things (IoT), an enormous amount of data is being generated that must be managed and integrated. This is particularly challenging inside and among multiple parties in large organizations where the information may be stored and used across different and fragmented operating systems.

In a transportation network, for example, there are approximately 170 variable costs for each truck from data points such as global positioning system (GPS) data, contracts, shipment, and accounting information. While the benefits of interconnecting all parties are enormous, managing all the information that is generated can overwhelm legacy information technology systems.

Blockchain-based solutions are the answer.

Detel ties with 26 Walmart India Stores in 6 major Cities to Expand its Offline Presence

Detel, the world’s most economical Feature Phone, TV and Accessories brand has tied up with Walmart India stores to sell its range of products in the Indian market. Walmart India Private Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc., the world’s leading retailer renowned for its efficiency and expertise in logistics, supply chain management, and sourcing. 

As a smart retail strategy, Detel is moving beyond its traditional route of reaching out to its customers. Right from tapping communities like Dabbawala, to opening its exclusive stores and now by associating with the giant retail brand like Walmart, Detel aims at making its products easily available across nooks & corners of the country. The objective is to strengthen its foothold across metros as well as in Tier 2, 3, 4 and 5 cities in order to build a connection with its audience.   

Commenting on the same, Mr. Yogesh Bhatia, MD, Detel, said “We see this partnership with Walmart as a long-term strategic alliance. Walmart is renowned for its efficiency and expertise in logistics, supply chain management and sourcing, which in turn will help Detel to reach one more step closer to its consumers. The vision behind this tie-up is to expand and widen the distribution base for Detel. We are sure that with this new tie-up, Detel will reach new heights"

In order to expand in offline retail presence, Detel has tied up with various brands like Spencer’s, Relay, Vivek’s, Metro Cash & Carry, etc. The company also plans to open 100 Detel Shoppee by 2020 to further fuel its expansion plans.                        

Established in 1991, with a CRISIL rating of SME 2, S.G. Corporate Mobility is the parent company of Detel, known for its key relationships with well-established brands in the space of mobiles, laptops, tablets, etc. DETEL believes that technology is no longer a luxury but a necessity. During the Indian Mobile Congress 2017, India's first-ever Mobile, Internet & Technology event, DETEL launched the world's most economical feature phone in the Indian market- Detel D1 at the price tag of just Rs. 349. The company is now committed to transforming the Television landscape in the country with its affordable TV ranging from 17 inch to 75 inches.

DETEL ensures the best quality for its product that trickles down from their extensive Research and Development to the Manufacturing, Testing, and Supply at economical pricing. Their products are making a mark in India in terms of Quality and Pricing.

Walmart Foundation President visits UP to help Create Sustainable livelihoods for Small Farmers

Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart Foundation President and EVP, Chief Sustainability Officer of Walmart, today visited and interacted with farmers and leaders of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in Rariya and Bilouli Maharaj villages in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. These farmers are part of a project supported by Walmart Foundation and managed and implemented by TechnoServe.

Tuesday, the Walmart Foundation announced a $3.5 million grant (approximately Rs 25.2 crores) to TechnoServe to help create more sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers. TechnoServe will help up to 30 FPOs in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh improve their access to markets and financing, and become stronger businesses with better accounting, governance and management systems. TechnoServe will also help build capability of smallholders in these FPOs by promoting sustainable agriculture practices, improving post-harvest and storage systems, and providing market access for smallholders. Through this grant, TechnoServe aims to boost incomes for 25,000 farmers (50% of whom will be women).

[caption id="attachment_134425" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart Foundation President and EVP, Chief Sustainability Officer of Walmart interacting with women farmers and leaders of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in Rariya and Bilouli Maharaj villages in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_134424" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The Walmart Foundation announced a $3.5 million grant (approximately Rs 25.2 crores) to TechnoServe to help create more sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers. TechnoServe will help up to 30 FPOs in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh improve their access to markets and financing, and become stronger businesses with better accounting, governance and management systems. TechnoServe will also help build capability of smallholders in these FPOs by promoting sustainable agriculture practices, improving post-harvest and storage systems, and providing market access for smallholders. Through this grant, TechnoServe aims to boost incomes for 25,000 farmers (50% of whom will be women). The Walmart Foundation also announced this week a $1.3 million grant to Digital Green, an organization that seeks to provide data such as weather forecasts, market pricing, and growing advice to farmers directly on mobile devices.[/caption]

“This grant extends Walmart Foundation’s efforts to improve market access for smallholder farmers in India, with the aim of increasing their income while also contributing to a stronger and more sustainable agricultural sector in the country,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart Foundation President and EVP, Chief Sustainability Officer of Walmart.

The Walmart Foundation also announced this week a $1.3 million grant to Digital Green, an organization that seeks to provide data such as weather forecasts, market pricing, and growing advice to farmers directly on mobile devices.

These grants are part of Walmart Foundation’s five-year, $25 million (approximately Rs. 180 crores) commitment to improve smallholder farmer livelihoods in India. To date, including the grants announced this week, Walmart Foundation has made over $10 million (Rs. 71 crores) in grants that aim to benefit 81,000 farmers, including 29,030 women farmers.

Walmart the company has also committed to source up to 25% of its produce for the Best Price cash and carry format from local smallholders.

Beyond India, Walmart Foundation is also working in Mexico, Central America and South Africa to address systemic challenges faced by smallholder farmers and small producers related to sustainable production practices, access to finance, infrastructure and market access.

Walmart, Flipkart to Collaborate with MSMEs, Farmers in UP

E-commerce major Flipkart, which was acquired by US retail firm Walmart last year, is keen on collaborating with the MSMEs and local artisans in Uttar Pradesh, said a company official.

Both the online retailers are likely to attend an event here on Sunday to kick start the second phase of projects awarded during the UP Investors' Summit last year.

Flipkart, which was acquired by the US retail major, is very keen on collaborating extensively with the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), ODOP and state artisans in Uttar Pradesh, Flipkart Group's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar told PTI.

Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Walmart India's CEO Krish Iyer are also expected to attend the event.
     
Flipkart is also looking to participate in the key initiatives of the Yogi Adityanath government, especially its ambitious one-district-one-product (ODOP) project, which seeks to promote traditional industries synonymous with their respective districts to spur the local economy and create jobs, Kumar said.

There are typical products in Uttar Pradesh that are found nowhere else - like the ancient and nutritious 'Kala namak' rice, the rare and intriguing wheat-stalk craft, world-famous chikankari, zari-zardozi work on clothes, and also exquisite banaras silk work.

Walmart India's main focus through its cash & carry business is to source directly from farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and local supplier and help small kiranas become more efficient and profitable, as per the company official. 

Walmart India runs four 'cash & carry' wholesale stores and a fulfilment centre serving kiranas in the state with local sourcing from small farmers and MSMEs.

The firm is looking to use the upcoming ceremony as a big opportunity to boost its efforts in the state.

Walmart International CEO Judith McKenna had met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last year and discussed the focus of Walmart and Flipkart so as to support MSMEs, small businesses, local artisans and farmers in the state.

Walmart acquired a 77 per cent stake in the country's largest online e-commerce platform Flipkart for USD 16 billion in May 2018 along with Myntra and PhonePe, rivaling market-leader Paytm.
     
The Walmart International CEO had met Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal during her visit to New Delhi earlier this month to discuss local sourcing norms for the domestic market.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place here on July 28 for over 200 industrial projects worth Rs 70,000 crore for which MoUs were signed during the UP Investors' Summit held in February, 2018. PTI SMI

IIT-Madras alumnus Suresh Kumar to be New CTO & CDO of Walmart

This week, the US based global retail chain behemoth, Walmart has appointed Suresh Kumar, an IIT Madras graduate and former Google executive, as chief technology officer (CTO) and chief development officer (CDO). He is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1987 batch), and a PhD in engineering from Princeton University (1992).

His appointment comes as Walmart is undertaking major investments in its e-commerce business to compete more effectively with Amazon.

The appointment comes after Walmart's previous CTO Jeremy King left the company to join Pinterest.

Suresh Kumar, who will report directly to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, will join the retail behemoth from July 8. He will be based out of the company’s Sunnyvale, California, office. The 54-year-old will fill in the shoes of Jeremy King, Walmart’s longtime CTO, who left the company in March.

Walmart’s Chief Information Officer Clay Johnson will report to Kumar, as will the technology chiefs at Walmart’s main operating units — US, international and Sam’s Club.

Suresh, 54, and his wife Gayathri currently live in Cupertino, CA and have two daughters. He will join Walmart at Sunnyvale office, officially starting on July 8.

Prior to Google, Suresh was the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure and Operations and before that he spent 15 years at Amazon Inc in various leadership roles, including Vice President of Technology for Retail Systems & Operations, and he led Amazon’s retail supply chain and inventory management systems. Before Amazon, Suresh was a research staff member at IBM T J Watson Research Center.

According to Suresh's LinkedIn profile, he has 25 years of software development experience with a proven track record of managing and delivering mission critical projects in e-commerce and managing 24x7 systems and operations.He has expertise in supply chain management and retail processes including inventory management, fulfillment operations, pricing, demand forecasting, vendor management and catalog operations.



“The technology of today and tomorrow enables us to serve our customers and associates in ways that weren’t previously possible. We want to take full advantage of those opportunities," said McMillon.

"Suresh has a unique understanding of the intersection of technology and retail, including supply chain, and has deep experience in advertising, cloud and machine learning. And, he has a track record of working in partnership with business teams to drive results," Walmart CEO added.

"Walmart is one of the great success stories in how a company evolves over time to serve the changing needs of its customers, and today, it is in the midst of an exciting digital transformation," Kumar said.

With over 11,000 stores, a high-growth e-commerce business and more than two million associates worldwide, the potential for technology to help people at scale is unparalleled, Kumar added.

Walmart may 'Dis-Invest' in Flipkart As India's New Complicated FDI Rules Hinders Company's Profitability

Within a year after global retail giant Walmart had bought Flipkart for $17 billion, it is being reported that it could exit Flipkart, as the US retail firm does not see a long-term path to profitability, The Economic Times reported citing a Morgan Stanley report.

In a report dated February 4, Morgaon Stanley said, “an exit is likely, not completely out of the question, with the Indian e-commerce market becoming more complicated”.

Walmart isn't likely to consider divesting its stake in Flipkart, but at the end of the day it may be the right move if there is no longer a clear path toward achieving a profit in India, according to Morgan Stanley.

The Morgan Stanley report came after the new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules for the e-commerce sector came into effect on February 1, post which not just Flipkart but Amazon has too has been impactedand saw a drop of around 25-35% in sales after having to re-arrange their seller entities where they held an equity stake.

Flipkart may need to scrap approximately 25% of its products from its site in light of the new rules. The smartphones and electronics category will feel an immediate impact because of the necessary changes which need to made in supply chains and existing exclusivity deals, said the brokerage report.

“We estimate that Flipkart derives 50% of its revenue from this category, meaning Flipkart could face meaningful disruption and top-line pressure in the near term,” it said.

A Walmart spokesperson told Economic Times, “Despite the recent changes in regulations, we remain optimistic about the e-commerce opportunity in India given the size of the market, the low penetration of ecommerce in the retail channel and the pace at which it is growing. As Walmart scales in India, the company will continue to partner to create sustained economic growth across agriculture, food and retail. Future investments will support national initiatives and will bring sustainable benefits to the country.”

Walmart Labs Acqui-hires Machine Learning Startup Int.ai

Within just three months after Walmart Labs India had acquired Bangalore-based Appsfly.io, it has made an another acquisition as it has announced it would hire key tech team from Machine Learning (ML) and data analytics startup Int.ai .

Started in the beginning of 2016 with an ambitious mission to build an AI powered personal data analyst for every business executive, Int.ai (Intelligent analytics platform) has developed expertise in blending machine learning with data analytics to uncover insights that significantly impact business metrics.

Post this acquisition, the Int.ai team of just three engineers including the co-founders Vinay Kumar NP and Praneeth Doguparthy will join Walmart Labs India.

They will be part of the health and wellness portfolio under Customer Technology at Walmart Labs, the technology unit of US retail giant Walmart.

"We are glad to welcome the Int.ai team to the big Walmart Labs family and believe that their expertise will be a great addition to our data analytics capabilities," said Hari Vasudev, Country Head and Vice President -- Technology, Walmart Labs India.

This is the second acqui-hiring Walmart Labs India has made -- after micro-app startup Appsfly in September where it merged Appsfly's six-member team into its customer experience engineering group.

Founded in 2016, Int.ai has invested and built expertise in architecting an analytics automation framework which will support Walmart Labs in developing solutions and supporting large-scale businesses.

"After working for almost 3 years on it, we are very happy to let you know that our entire team will be joining Walmart Labs, India," Vinay and Praneeth said in a separate statement.

"We started Int.ai in the beginning of 2016 with an ambitious mission to build an AI-powered personal data analyst for every business executive," they added.

Int.ai developed expertise in blending Machine Learning with data analytics to uncover insights that significantly impact business metrics.

Source - The News Minute