A High Price Move

A High Price Move

- 

After months of speculation, the $500 billion US retail giant Walmart has bought a 77 percent stake in the homegrown online retailer Flipkart for a consideration of $16 billion (over Rs 1 lakh crore), pitting itself directly against rival American firm Amazon in India. The deal, one of the largest involving an Indian company, was announced by visiting Walmart CEO Doug McMillon in Bengaluru on May 9.

What explains Walmart’s interest in India? The Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow to $200 billion (Rs 13.4 lakh crore) by 2026, from $38.5 billion (Rs 2.6 lakh crore) as of 2017, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a research body under the commerce ministry. This growth has been triggered by increasing internet and smartphone penetration. India’s total internet user base will be 829 million by 2021, or just under 60 percent of the total population.