Walmart's global empire
The world’s largest retailer, Walmart has an international reach of 6,360 stores across five continents. Today, its international business has reduced from about 30 percent five years back, to less than one-quarter of its total revenue. Why? Competition, store closures and weak economies. With Doug McMillon, the company has seen a strategic change – from building hundreds of stores in the US to buying e-commerce startups and focusing on potential markets like China and India. And in the context of Walmart’s mega deal with Flipkart, we take a look at its other operations across the world
By: Naini Thaker
Makro, part of the Massmart brand trades in food, general merchandise and liquor with stores located in major metropolitan areas. Makro is a worldwide chain of stores owned by Metro AG and SHV Holdings. Its first Makro store outside Europe opened in 1971 in South Africa, which in 1990 became a part of Massmart. In 2010, Walmart acquired 51% of the shareholding in Massmart. Today, Massmart operates in more than 400 stores in South Africa and 12 other sub-Saharan countries.
