Walmart India's loss widens to Rs 171 Cr in FY19; revenue up 11pc
The Indian subsidiary of US-based Walmart Inc., that owns and operates 27 B2B modern wholesale stores under the brand name of ‘Best Price’, has been investing for future growth in Indian market.
Retail major Walmart India's net loss widened to Rs 171.6 crore in FY19, compared to a loss of Rs 90.8 crore in FY18. While the company's revenue shot up by 11 percent in FY19, the company said in its annual report.
The company registered total revenue of Rs 4,095 crore in FY19, compared to the revenue of Rs 3,686 crore in FY18. The company’s operating loss (EBIDTA) also widened to Rs 146.4 crore in FY19 from Rs 64.3 crore in the previous year.
The Indian subsidiary of US-based Walmart Inc., that owns and operates 27 B2B modern wholesale stores under the brand name of ‘Best Price’, has been investing for future growth in Indian market.
Krish Iyer, President and CEO of Walmart India
The retail major in its annual report said, “We continued to focus on delivering a differentiated value proposition to our core customer segment of small resellers and secondary segment of hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) and delivered healthy double-digit growth in the two segments”.
Walmart India opened its three Best Price stores in Ludhiana, Vishakhapatnam, and Karimnagar. It has also grown its membership base in these cities significantly and the new stores have been received well.
"Since the close of the financial year ended March 31, 2019, we have further opened stores in Vijaywada, Nizamabad, and Indore. We have built a good pipeline of stores in the priority states and will continue to expand our network in the future”, the statement added.
To support its B2B ecommerce ambitions, Walmart India will open two fulfilment centres in Lucknow and Hyderabad this year.
It is also building capabilities for the future through investments in revamping its technology infrastructure to enhance its omnichannel capabilities and in people development.
“The increased losses during the year under review, reflect the investments that we are making to drive our future growth”, Walmart India said.
Recently, Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues related to data privacy and regulatory stability for the ecommerce sector. He also assured PM Modi of Walmart’s commitment to increasing sourcing from India, empowering small and medium enterprises and creating more jobs.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
