Indian opposition vows to burn Walmart stores if FDI policy goes on
Deja vu. Indian protestors shout slogans as they burn an effigy symbolizing Walmart during a protest organised by traders in New Delhi, 09 August 2007. Dozens of protestors demanded that US retail giant Wal-Mart not be allowed into India. Indian telecom firm Bharti Enterprises and US-based retail giant Wal-Mart announced 06 August 2007, a 50:50 joint venture for a new chain of wholesale stores in India to serve small retail shops.
It's official, Walmart is Enemy Number One in India.
Manmohan Singh's Congress is committed to opening India up to multi-brand retailers like Walmart. But not even an all party meeting chaired by Congress doyen Sonia Gandhi has been able to quiet the furor. A unified opposition — and some Congress party allies — forced the parliament to adjourn early the past two days running. And now all and sundry are threatening to set fire to Walmart stores if the global chain is allowed to open retail outlets in India, reports the Economic Times.
Except for one thing…. Walmart is already IN India. Yep, they were forced to partner up with Bharti (which owns the leading telecom carrier, Airtel). Yep, they're only allowed to sell in wholesale lots. But they're here, and the sky hasn't fallen.
What's more, there are plenty of other big domestic players in the retail business, Bharti and Reliance among them, who are also shouldering in on the mom and pop "kirana" stores that all the politicians suddenly seem so keen to protect. And the corner stores haven't suffered a bit.
Say what you will about Walmart's employment practices in the U.S. — anti-union, no benefits, whatever. Here in India, they'd be playing by the rules often flouted by the so-called "unorganized" sector: paying the minimum wage, eschewing child labor, and providing safe working conditions.
And the little guy will keep on fighting.
Every day, we order our groceries from the mom and pop store across the street. It's about the size of a large bathroom, but they've got everything. And they deliver to our doorstep within 10 minutes, without fail, seven days a week, on all holidays except Holi (when nobody works due to the threat of being soaked and stained with colored water).
As far as I know, that's a service that Walmart and Tesco won't be prepared to offer.