Walmart CEO McMillon meets PM Modi, reaffirms $10 billion India sourcing goal

Walmart Inc CEO Doug McMillon met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India, reiterating the US retail giant's commitment to sourcing $10 billion worth of goods annually from the country by 2027.

"Thank you Honorable PM @narendramodi for a valuable meeting. We are excited by your vision and proud to support by partnering to achieve our $10b annual exports goal and investing in innovation through Flipkart & PhonePe. India remains central to our strategy," Walmart posted on X, quoting McMillon.

Walmart also shared images from the meeting, which was attended by Walmart International CEO Kath McLay.

McMillon, who has made multiple trips to India since becoming CEO of the Bentonville-based retailer, praised the country’s economic progress.

"I have been coming to India for a long time now, many years, and I have made many trips, and what goes through my mind is that there is a story developing that is a bit like a movie," McMillon said on Tuesday.

"Over the years, the growth story of India is unfolding, and it's really broadening and becoming much more interesting," he said.

Walmart had announced in December 2020 its target to source $10 billion worth of goods annually from India by 2027, spanning categories including apparel, food, and toys.

"At the beginning, we were sourcing products here with limited categories... look what's happened in our sourcing business. It's grown a lot," McMillon said, adding the company was working closely with the supplier community to meet the target.

During his visit, McMillon interacted with entrepreneurs from Walmart Vriddhi, the company’s local programme to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

McMillon lauded the performance of Walmart-owned platforms Flipkart and PhonePe, saying “what our teams have done to grow those businesses over the years has been inspiring."

Walmart entered India in 2018 through a $16 billion deal for a 77% stake in Flipkart, which also gave it a majority holding in PhonePe. Flipkart later acquired travel platform Cleartrip in 2021 to diversify its offerings.

Walmart International CEO Kath McLay said the company is proud of its two-decade-long partnership with India.

Walmart has sourced more than $30 billion worth of goods from India over the past 20 years. The company’s global sourcing operations began in Bengaluru in 2002.