Wal-Mart Stores Inc and India's Bharti Enterprises said on Monday they had signed an equal joint venture for Indian cash-and-carry and retail back-end operations.
The joint venture, to be called Bharti Wal-Mart Private Ltd, would open 10 to 15 cash-and-carry, or wholesale, facilities in India over seven years, which would sell groceries, consumer appliances and fruits and vegetables, they said in a statement.
The first cash-and carry store is targeted to open by the end of 2008. The venture would employ about 5,000 people in 7 years.
Foreign multiple brand retailers in India, one of the world's fastest-growing consumer markets, are limited to cash-and-carry and franchise or licence operations.
India's retail industry, valued at nearly $350 billion, is forecast to double in size by 2015, with modern retail's share of that also quickly increasing from about 3 per cent now.