India news and analysis

Hindustan Unilever’s rural distribution network, composed of Indian women micro-entrepreneurs, has become a lifeline during the pandemic.  The project has given them a source of income, while distributing Unilever’s products directly to rural consumers, without the need for a physical store. 140,000 female entrepreneurs across 18 states benefit from this project In the early 2000s, HUL starte...

Reliance Retail has announced that it is extending the date to complete the purchase of Future Retail.  While waiting for the merger to be approved by the authorities, Reliance Retail is focusing more on growing its private label brands, while Future Retail has enhanced its digital capability with a two-hour delivery guarantee for online shoppers of Big Bazaar. Potential acquisition of Future R...

Walmart-owned Flipkart will expand its online grocery operations to more cities in India, start voice search in English and Hindi, and make changes in its board of directors.  The online grocery market has grown rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this expansion allows it to compete with the likes of Alibaba-backed BigBasket, Grofers, Amazon and Reliance Industries’ JioMart. Flipkart’s o...

As part of their commitment to sustainability and zero carbon emissions, Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon have recently started to shift to electric vehicles for customer deliveries in India. Source: Amazon Stories India Flipkart targets transition to 100% electric vehicles in the next ten years Flipkart plans to have more than 25,000 electric vehicles by 2030.  It will be partnering with ...

In an update for analysts, Walmart has outlined its capital expenditure plans for the year ahead and the continued transformation of its business. Uniquely Walmart Walmart’s president and CEO, Doug McMillon, struck an upbeat tone in outlining his vision for the company. Building on the momentum of 2020 , the retailer plans to accelerate its strategy to deliver long term growth. It’s ai...

We review Walmart's fourth quarter and full year results, as it outlines the next phase of its growth and development. Walmart's key numbers Walmart's total revenue in Q4 increased by 7.3% to $152.1bn, representing an additional $10.4bn Sales in its US stores increased by 7.9%, with Sam’s Club's sales up 8.1% US ecommerce sales increased 69% US comp store sales increased by 8.6%...

After Indian online grocers BigBasket and Grofers have reported growth in revenue last week, Spencer’s and Future Retail have recently announced a decline in their income for October to December 2020. Future Retail: revenue has been badly affected by the pandemic Future Retail has reported 71% less revenue during the quarter of October to December 2020.  Its income has dropped from INR51,93...

India’s online grocer Grofers has reported a 111% increase in its revenue to INR1,767m (US$24m) in FY20 (ending March 2020).  However, with overall expenses increasing 53% to INR8,142m (US$112m), the retailer reported a net loss of 42%, equating to INR6,374m (US$88m). Increase in warehouse space, store partners and private labels  The online retailer is now present in 38 cities and able to ...

Walmart-owned Flipkart has begun to deliver wholesale grocery items to Kirana stores and other small retailers in India. Pilot in Gurugram and service will be rolled out to the rest of India later Flipkart Wholesale, which connects manufacturers with retailers in 23 cities, started with clothing and footwear. With the addition of grocery products in its inventory, Kirana stores and small re...

BigBasket has reported a 36% increase in its revenue to INR38,180m (US$525m) in FY20 (ending March 2020).  However, with overall expenses increasing 31% to INR44,114m (US$605m) the retailer reported losses of 26%, equating to INR7,099m (US$97m).   Intense B2B competition with the entry of big players Supermarket Grocery Supplies (SGS) operates e-grocery platform BigBasket, which supplies Ki...