Walmart’s chief Furner meets PM, takes stock of India market

MUMBAI: Walmart’s new president and CEO John Furner who was on his first trip to India since assuming the corner office in Feb took stock of the market as two of its local businesses Flipkart and PhonePe head for a public listing on the bourses besides familiarising himself with the team here.

On Thursday evening before concluding his three-day visit, Furner also met Prime Minister Modi, said people in the know.

In a townhall with Flipkart employees earlier this week, Furner said that speed of delivery is increasingly defining the new norms in retail globally. Flipkart which has been a late entrant to the local quick commerce market has been ramping up its network of dark stores and geographical footprint as it competes with bigger rivals Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto in the space.

Furner also said that Flipkart will continue to have its own independent way of functioning despite change in global leadership.

“India represents one of the most dynamic opportunities in global commerce today,” Furner said at the company’s growth summit in Delhi, adding that it has already sourced more than $40 billion in goods from India. Walmart will focus on strengthening supplier capabilities, raising compliance and quality standards, and helping scale manufacturing, equipping more Indian businesses to export, Furner said.

While Flipkart is preparing for IPO and is eyeing a listing sometime next year, PhonePe has paused its listing plans due to the war led market turmoil.
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