India news and analysis

As Metro Group expands in India and acquires a business in Portugal, we round up news from the cash and carry company. Metro acquires business in Portugal In Portugal, Metro has acquired the Aviludo Group, which it describes as the second largest food service distribution company in the country. Aviludo generated sales worth €152m in 2019 and services more than 13,500 HoReCa clients nationw...

With Walmart confirming the sale of its UK-business, Asda, to the Issa Brothers and TDR Capital, we look at what the deal means for the retailer. 1. Opportunity to benefit from business improvement This transaction follows on from a similar move in Brazil in 2018, when the retailer divested an 80% majority stake of its operations in the country to private equity firm, Advent Internati...

Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, will buy Future Group’s retail and wholesale business including its logistics and warehouses for US$3.4bn. Reliance strengthens leadership position Reliance Retail is India’s largest retail store operator including 621 Reliance Fresh (neighbourhood stores) and Reliance Smart (supermarkets), 52 Reliance Market (cash and carry), 7...

We review Walmart's second quarter results and its outlook as the business adapts to the new trading environment. Walmart's key numbers Walmart's total revenue in Q2 increased by 5.6% to $137.7bn Operating income increased 8.5% to $6.1bn Sales in its US stores increased by 9.5% to $93.3bn and by 8.8% to $16.4bn at Sam’s Club US comp store sales increased by 9.3%, with average ti...

In its Q3 2019/20 results, Metro reported a 17.5% decrease in like-for-like (LFL) sales, compared to the previous year, driven by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its negative impacts on the hospitality sector. However, as of July this year, Metro noted that sales had recovered to the previous year’s level in its Hotels, restaurants and catering (HoReCa) division. Germany: like-for-like...

Walmart’s majority-owned Flipkart operation in India is launching a new wholesale business. As part of this initiative, Flipkart is acquiring Walmart’s existing business in India. Slow progress in developing its wholesale stores Walmart entered the Indian market over 10 years ago, initially forming a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises. When this was terminated in 2013, Walmart acquired t...

Tesco and Tata have both invested a further Rs 67 crore (US$8.9m) into their Trent Hypermarket joint venture. New funds and a new CEO The new investment has been picked up in local regulatory filings and signals the first major injection in funds by the partners in the past two years. It also follows on from the appointment of a new CEO, Martin Bailie, in April this year. Bailie joined Tren...

Amazon has announced it is rolling out a new service, called Smart Stores, enabling customers to discover products at local stores in India, make payments, and earn rewards using Amazon Pay. Smart Stores With the launch of Smart Stores, customers in India can scan a QR code at participating stores using the Amazon app. These QR codes enable shoppers to access a digital storefront to learn m...

Netherlands-based SPAR International reported global sales growth of 4.35% to €37.1 bn (US $41.6 bn). The retailer stated its entry into two new markets, an additional 208 stores and the consistent expansion over the past four years has been a key growth driver, although the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought challenges. 2019 ‘has again delivered exceptional results’ Commenting o...

We review Walmart's first quarter results and its outlook as the business adapts to the new trading environment. Walmart's key numbers Walmart's total revenue in Q1 increased by 8.6% to $134.6bn Operating income increased 5.6% $5.2bn Sales in its US stores increased by 10.5% and by 9.6% at Sam’s Club US comp store sales increased by 10.0%, with average ticket up 16.5% while tran...