You are here  » Home » F&G » Details

Our mission is to impact small local suppliers in India: Bharti Wal-Mart

04 Feb 2010

Bharti Wal-Mart is working with 116 private brand suppliers in India and its focus, the company states, is on impacting the small local suppliers. In an exclusive interview with Imagesfood.com, Arti Singh, vice-president of Corporate Affairs at Bharti Wal-Mart stated, “In India, we are working with about 116 private brand suppliers, 70 percent of whom are SMEs. We are a strong supporter of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) as a sustainable business model and in keeping with our philosophy - ‘Saving Money to Live Better’.”

The wholesaler, it may be known, was quite recently reported to be facing opposition in trademark registration of its private label brands. On being inquired about trademark registration of products, which clearly were not made in India, Singh clarified, “Wal-Mart operates with multiple private brands around the world. In each market that we operate, we look to be local. We treat each market as unique and India, in this respect, is no different.”

“Our trademark names have been arrived at after extensive market research and customer preference. As such, we have developed all our products keeping in mind the needs and preferences of the consumers in India. For example, ASTITVA (My Identity) is the brand name for our Indian Ethnic Products. It is a brand that helps Indian consumers connect with rich traditions and cultures across India. The product range, as a matter of fact, has been well received by the customers.”

On being inquired as to how Bharti Wal-Mart private labels would make a difference to the existing equations in Indian market, Singh elaborated, “It is our mission to help impact influence the lowest common denominator i.e. small local supplier. This is also illustrative of the impact our Great Value brand makes to this industry. For instance, there is a honey supplier in Punjab who is keen on supplying honey. He had access to good honey, but did not know how to package it. So we along with other providers helped him by providing bottles, water tight and air tight caps so that he could supply honey. We are also selling his honey, but the important thing is that his honey has now become good enough to be sold in other parts of the country and also to the wholesale markets. With us, he is supplying under the brand ‘Great Value’, our international private brand.”

By Bhavya Misra