French retail giant Carrefour is on track to open its first cash-and-carry wholesale store in New Delhi in 2010, having met with over 600 suppliers on Wednesday to hash out protocol.
Carrefour’s original plan had been to open its first store in mid-2009, but that schedule has been extended to the end of the year or early 2010, reported the Hindu Business Line.
“This meeting had three objectives: to introduce Carrefour Group and its project in India, to return on the concept of the cash-and-carry store and to present the working specifications and the mode of collaboration with suppliers,'” the retailer said in a press release.
Carrefour has been trying to enter the Indian market for at least three years, but negotiations for a local partner have so far proved fruitless, and the retailer is planning to fly solo on its wholesale business.
Wednesday’s meeting was intended to build relations and open business opportunities for suppliers, said Carrefour India’s managing director Herve Clec'h.
“Every market we enter, we work closely with local producers, farmers, agricultural cooperatives and manufacturers,” he said.
“In most Carrefour stores, around 90 per cent of the sold items are locally sourced. This concentration on domestic sourcing allows us to make valuable contribution to the development of the local economy.”
Carrefour’s first store will cover about 5,000m2, according to Indian finance portal Money Control. The retailer’s second outlet is also expected to open in New Delhi.
