Amritsar: India's Bharti group and Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, opened their first cash-and-carry joint venture store in the city on Saturday on an investment of $7 million.
They also plan to open at least 15 outlets across the country in the next three years.
The stores will be run under the brand name of Best Price Modern Wholesale. It will offer an assortment of around 6,000 items, including food and non-food items, at competitive wholesale prices.
Over 90 per cent of the goods will be sourced locally, helping keep down costs.
"This is a beginning and we will come up with 15 more stores in three years and employ more than 5,000 people," said Vice Chairman and Managing Director Bharti Enterprises, Rajan Bharti Mittal.
"We have tied up with 30,000 retailers and 8,000 suppliers and expect more to join us," said Mittal.
The Amritsar store, spread over about 50,000 square feet, will provide 200 direct and 500 indirect jobs.
"Within six to12 months you will see many such ventures in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. We have brought properties there," said Mittal.
"About 80 per cent of our suppliers are from Punjab. We will set up our next store in Ludhiana. Each store will require about $7 million. This does not include the land price."
A lot of planning and preparation had gone into the project in the past 12 months, said Managing Director and Chief Executive of the joint venture Bharti Wal-Mart India.
Bharti Wal-Mart, in association with the Punjab government, has also started a training centre offering full scholarship to bridge the shortage of skilled workers for cash-and-carry and organised retail formats.
The company had earlier planned to open the store on May 26, but this had to be deferred on account of the violence that erupted in Punjab following the killing of a spiritual leader in Austria.
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