Walmart and Flipkart

How it Started
The history of Walmart, an American discount department store
chain, began in 1950 when businessman Sam Walton purchased
a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and
opened Walton's 5 & 10. The Walmart chain proper was
founded in 1962 with a single store in Rogers, expanding outside
Arkansas by 1968 and throughout the rest of the Southern
United States by the 1980s, ultimately operating a store in every
state of the United States, plus its first stores in Canada, by 1995.
The company introduced its warehouse club chain Sam's Club in
1983 and its first Supercenter stores in 1988. By the second
decade of the 21st century, the chain had grown to over 11,000
stores in 28 countries.
Founder
• Samuel Moore Walton was an American
businessman and entrepreneur best known for
founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club.
Walmart tried to enter in India
When Walmart first announced its big-bang entry
into India in 2007, it had grand plans to have its huge
signature stores sprinkled across the country. Almost a
decade later, the reality looks very different.

On May 09, Walmart announced that it has acquired a

77% stake in India’s largest e-commerce firm, Flipkart, for
$16 billion (Rs1.06 lakh crore). The deal will give the
American retailer a direct link to a market that is
expected to be worth $200 billion
India is one of the most attractive retail markets in
the world, given its size and growth rate, and our
investment is an opportunity to partner with the
company that is leading the transformation of e-
commerce in the market,
 Why Indian Businessmen opposed
Walmart
• Walmart may face backlash in India
In a recap of what happened more than a decade
ago to global retail giant Walmart Inc. in India, as
many as 700,000 traders, workers, farmers and
political outfits might take to the streets in a
nationwide protest against the Walmart-Flipkart
deal.
Walmart takes over Flipkart
Walmart Inc. will acquire control of India’s largest
online retailer Flipkart Ltd. in its biggest deal, taking
on Amazon.com Inc in one of the fastest growing e-
commerce markets.

The world’s largest retailer will buy 77 percent stake

for $16 billion in the Singapore-based holding
company of Flipkart, Walmart said in a media
statement. The remainder of the business will be
held by Co-Founder Binny Bansal.
• The investment includes $2 billion in new equity
funding and Walmart and Flipkart are in talks with
additional potential investors who may join the
round. Walmart also said it supports Flipkart’s
ambition to transition into a publicly listed,
majority-owned subsidiary in the future. The deal,
which comes after months of negotiations, values
the online retailer at about $20.8 billion.
• What Walmart's Flipkart acquisition means for India, consumers
Flipkart is being positioned as the arrowhead for Walmart to
have another crack at the Indian market, four years after it broke its
joint venture with Bharti for a cash-and-carry business. This time
around, Walmart’s choice in India is starkly different.
Walmart has been engaged in a bruising battle with Amazon —
in the US and elsewhere. While its home turf is under threat from
Amazon, which is pushing more and more people to shop online
and even buying old-school players like Whole Foods, Walmart has
been desperate to globalise its business and build its own
technological arsenal.
Now, Flipkart’s last steps as an independent company may also
be Walmart’s first steps to redeem its India business.