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Walmart’s India Blueprint: Digital-First, Supply-Led, India-Strong

When Doug McMillon, President & CEO of Walmart Inc., lands in India, it’s never just a ceremonial visit. It’s a strategic signal

Accompanied this time by Kathryn McLay, President & CEO of Walmart International, and joined on ground by Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, McMillon’s latest two-day visit marks more than a checkpoint in Walmart’s India journey — it captures a recalibration moment in the global retailer’s most complex, high-potential, and often policy-sensitive market.

The messaging is subtle but unmissable: Walmart’s India play is not through stores, but through supply chains, seller networks, and digital rails. This visit makes it clear — Walmart is here for India’s growth story, not its storefronts.

A Strategic Pivot: Why Walmart Walked Away from Stores in India

“We are no longer chasing the brick-and-mortar stores business in India.”
— Doug McMillon, Walmart CEO

That single sentence — widely quoted from McMillon’s interactions during his June 2025 visit — essentially closes a long-speculated chapter. Walmart, once seen as the next big contender for India’s big-box physical retail, is now making a deliberate and public pivot: a platform-first, policy-aligned, supply-led strategy centered around Flipkart, PhonePe, and Walmart Global Sourcing.

This pivot has been in the making for years. Walmart’s 2018 acquisition of a 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion was the first formal departure from physical retail ambitions. Flipkart offered instant access to a scale-ready, digital-first consumer base. Walmart then doubled down on digital with PhonePe, and widened the net by acquiring travel-tech platform Cleartrip in 2021. The synergy was clear — connect commerce, payments, logistics, and lifestyle.

But if the pivot was already in play, why now this high-profile visit?

What Brings Doug McMillon to India Now? A Convergence of Strategic Themes

While the official agenda includes MSME engagement, sourcing updates, and ecosystem walkthroughs, there’s clearly more at stake — both internally and externally.

Here’s what likely made this the right moment for a CEO-led reaffirmation:

  1. Sourcing Targets: Revisiting the $10 Billion Promise

Walmart had committed in December 2020 to source $10 billion annually from India by 2027. According to McMillon, that story is now “unfolding like a movie.”

“At the beginning, we were sourcing with limited categories… but look what’s happened in our sourcing business. It’s grown a lot.”

So far, Walmart has sourced over $30 billion cumulatively over the past two decades from India, with a strong base in apparel, food, toys, and home products. The current goal requires deeper integration with Indian manufacturers, digitised suppliers, and policy-aligned trade flows. This sourcing story — anchored from Walmart’s Bengaluru sourcing hub (est. 2002) — is now a core driver of the company’s India visibility and diplomatic presence.

  1. Flipkart’s Strategic Maturity — and the HQ Shift to India

Flipkart is no longer a startup. It is India’s most established homegrown e-commerce marketplace, touching over 300 million households, operating in every Indian pin code, and poised to evolve into a public company.

In 2024, Flipkart initiated plans to move its headquarters from Singapore to India — a move that has drawn strong interest from both the government and private equity stakeholders. While the IPO timeline remains unannounced, the India HQ shift signals regulatory alignment and ecosystem anchoring.

This transition likely demanded a show of strategic unity — hence the presence of Walmart’s global leadership team. Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who joined the Walmart team during this visit, reiterated:

“The last decade of India has been a growth story — and the next will be exactly like that.”

  1. Policy Frictions and Regulatory Dialogue

Despite the optimism, Walmart’s India journey hasn’t been without hurdles. The current regulatory environment restricts inventory-based e-commerce models for foreign companies — a long-standing friction point for Walmart and Amazon alike.

As per media reports, McMillon used his visit to renew Walmart’s call for a level playing field, while reasserting that the company remains committed to full compliance with Indian laws.

“We respect the rules of each country we operate in, but we also hope for policy clarity that encourages innovation and creates value.”

It’s a careful balancing act — between policy advocacy and diplomatic maturity — and it’s not surprising that a CEO-level visit was timed to lend gravity to Walmart’s position.

  1. The MSME & Export Narrative — Walmart Vriddhi in Focus

India’s rise in global trade will not come through large exporters alone. Walmart’s Vriddhi programme, now in its fifth year, has already trained 70,000+ MSMEs, with a goal to support another 100,000 by 2028.

“We are proud of what’s happening with small businesses,” said McMillon, who met with Vriddhi-trained entrepreneurs during the visit.
“Business success should translate into community success,” added Kathryn McLay.

Vriddhi serves Walmart’s twin goals: community development and export-readiness. It also ensures that Walmart’s sourcing story is not just about volume, but about inclusion.

  1. PhonePe’s 600 Million Milestone and the Agriculture Bet

In March 2025, PhonePe crossed 600 million registered users, with over 40 million merchants across India. It is now India’s largest UPI platform and a critical pillar in Walmart’s vision for a digital-first supply and commerce network.

What’s perhaps lesser known is PhonePe’s quiet buildout of its agri-commerce and rural enablement layer, which McMillon referenced positively during his visit:

“I’m really excited to hear about the work that’s happening in agriculture.”

What Walmart Isn’t Saying — but Clearly Signalling

Walmart is not retreating from India — it’s re-rooting itself, deeper and more invisibly than most legacy multinationals. By letting go of its store ambitions, it has embraced a platform-native, policy-sensitive, supply-centric vision of Indian growth.

This visit was not just about sourcing targets or MSME milestones. It was a strategic reaffirmation — of alignment with India’s regulatory direction, of confidence in Flipkart and PhonePe, and of Walmart’s bet that India’s future retail battlefield is not on shop floors, but in supply chains, APIs, seller dashboards, and payment rails.

The blueprint is drawn:
Digital-first. Supply-led. India-strong.

The post Walmart’s India Blueprint: Digital-First, Supply-Led, India-Strong appeared first on India Retailing.



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