Wal-Mart, Bharti JV to open 15 outlets in wholesale by 2011

MUMBAI: Global retail giant Wal-Mart in its joint venture with Bharti Enterprises plans to open 15 outlets in its wholesale format by end-2011, a top company official said.

The company currently operates 3 cash and carry stores in the country at Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

"Our plans on the cash and carry business to open 15 outlets by end-next year is on track. We are opening 4 outlets in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vijayawada and Hyderabad by mid- next year," Bharti Walmart's Head, Raj Jain, told reporters on the sidelines of the India Retail Forum here, today.

Bharti Enterprises and US-based Wal-Mart Stores entered into a joint venture in August 2007 and started cash-and-carry stores named 'BestPrice Modern Wholesale' in 2009.

On its sales, Jain said a good monsoon and a good growth in the economy this year is likely to boost overall sales.