Walmart Opens First Dark Store In Bhiwandi

Walmart Stores has opened a fulfilment centre, or ‘dark store’, in India, one of its first globally, in an effort to speed up operations in the country, which is fast adopting online retail services. The 45,000 square feet centre at Bhiwandi near Mumbai will serve kirana stores and other B2B businesses through online orders and will mostly stock packaged consumer products and home supplies.

Krish iyer, CEO Walmart India said “Metro cities are great markets for consumers but availability of large real estate at a reasonable cost is a challenge. Nearly half its sales are generated out of its 20-odd big-box formats through online and sales staff ordering.  Idea was conceived nearly a year ago and we first piloted it in Lucknow. Last-mile delivery and the time taken are a challenge but we have to manage that. We have promised delivery within 24 hours to our members. Walmart’s store expansion, which was put on hold for a few years, will begin aggressively. We will open 5-7 stores next year and add another 8-10 in the subsequent year”.

Indian unit of the world’s largest retailer launched its online platform for members of Best Price Modern Wholesale stores three years ago. But that was restricted to cities with the stores. The company will now start an online platform without a physical store.