Are Indian customers ready for the Wal-Mart experience?
Indian consumers tend to prefer fresh food more than frozen. They are extremely value-conscious and they need multiple price points for everything. The premium segment in India is small. Land is expensive and hence the store needs to be lot more compact. We factored all that in. How have you tweaked your model for India? We have introduced home delivery. Buyers have the option of calling and placing the orders. We have transporters who are on the campus and they can transport the stuff to the place. Traders can do that. Will traders who are used to receiving credit from existing wholesalers come to Wal-Mart? All the research we have done on our customer base tells us that while credit is important, price is more important. Also, we have tied up with Kotak Mahindra Bank for credit cards. We have their branch on our premises and our buyers can buy stuff on credit card. How can you improve on-shelf availability when suppliers don’t adhere to delivery norms? We are working on on-time deliv
