India’s e-commerce, sourcing fueling growth for Walmart: CEO Doug McMillon | Company Business News

Walmart Inc.’s president and chief executive, Doug McMillon, reiterated the importance of the Indian market on Tuesday.

“We appreciate the long-standing relationship that we’ve had with the country,” he said at a Walmart event in New Delhi.

The world’s largest retailer, which started with sourcing operations from India over two decades ago, now participates in India’s growing $70 billion e-commerce market via its controlling stake in Flipkart.  

McMillon, who is in India for a two-day visit, said the company is looking to step up local sourcing from India to $10 billion every year for its international business. It promised to triple its exports of goods from India to $10 billion each year by 2027 in 2020 also.

“Look at what’s happened in our sourcing business. It’s grown a lot, and now we have this goal of getting to $10 billion a year, which is a really big number and together with the supplier community, we’re working to achieve that,” he said. 

“We get to do business all over the world, and it’s rare to have such a big economy, growing so fast, and creating so much opportunity for so many. We want to be part of the process to strengthen the country, to serve its citizens and to demonstrate that we’re a trusted partner across all these dimensions,” he added.

McMillon did not address any media queries at the event.

Walmart, with its controlling stake in the Flipkart Group, today has a large footprint in India’s digital economy, including e-commerce marketplaces, online payment solutions, global technology, and the online booking platform Cleartrip, which Flipkart acquired in April 2021.

It works with a wide range of suppliers in categories such as food, pharmaceuticals, consumables, health and wellness, and general merchandise, as well as apparel, homeware, and other key Indian export categories to source goods from the country.

In 2024-25, the operator of big-box retail stores reported total revenues of $68 billion.

It is engaged in global operations of retail, wholesale, and other units, as well as e-commerce, throughout the US, Africa, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, India, and Mexico.

Strict foreign investment policies restrict the company from opening stand-alone multi-brand stores in India on its own.

Walmart’s India connection

Walmart has had a long and choppy history in India.

Walmart’s engagement in India began with sourcing operations in Bengaluru in 2002. In 2007, it entered into a joint venture (JV) with Bharti Enterprises to establish a wholesale cash-and-carry business under the brand “Best Price Modern Wholesale”. However, the partnership was formally dissolved in October 2013 over differences between the two partners.

In May 2018, it acquired a 77% controlling stake in e-commerce marketplace Flipkart for approximately $16 billion, in a historic move for the Indian startup ecosystem.

As part of the Flipkart acquisition, Walmart also gained a controlling interest in PhonePe, a digital payments platform that Flipkart acquired in 2016. PhonePe is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO). 

Flipkart also operates fashion e-commerce platform Myntra and budget shopping app Shopsy.

Established in 2007, Flipkart has a registered user base of more than 500 million, and its marketplace offers over 150 million products across 80 categories. It competes with Amazon, Reliance Industries and the Tata group.

“I’ve been coming to India for a long time now. What goes through my mind is that there is a story developing, and it feels like a movie. If you come once, you can get a little bit of a snapshot of what’s happening here. If you return again and again, you can see how the story is unfolding, and it’s really broadening and becoming much more interesting,” he said.

The company holds a “long-term” view on India. “You can see that from the many years that we’ve been here, and you can expect that to continue. We see the growth in India—we see entrepreneurship happening here,” McMillon said.