WAL-MART and Bharti to sign deal this month

According to reports in the Indian press, citing the managing director of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Mittal, the company will sign a legal agreement with Wal-Mart Stores for their joint retail venture this month. According to Mr Mittal, Bharti and Wal-Mart bosses have been identifying and signing property deals for outlets and distribution centres and have already signed deals for over a dozen sites in and around Delhi.

Mr Mittal said the company was "real estate-agnostic", meaning it did not subscribe to any one model and would buy, lease or rent, according to convenience and cost factors. In terms of whether the stores will use the Wal-Mart banner, Mr Mittal said the consumer research results revealed that Bharti was an extremely strong brand name in the country. Although Wal-Mart is a globally recognised brand, it is not so familiar with a majority of Indian people who have not travelled abroad, indicating that the retail outlets are more likely to focus on the Bharti name.

Responding to the charge that Wal-Mart indulged in squeezing margins and was not an employee-friendly organisation, Mr Mittal said he was very impressed with the way the retailer functioned, and in his various encounters with the organisation and its employees, he had never felt that there was any unrest of any kind.