Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s share price up, opens 50 new wholesale stores in India, stays focused on green initiative

The largest retailer worldwide, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., officially announced today that it plans to open 50 new wholesale stores, which will be cash-and-carry outlets, in India. This is going to be the end of the expansion freeze of the company in the region, after dealing with close monitoring and evaluation by the government, as the latter has thoroughly been investigating whether the company has attempted to escape a previous ban on foreign direct investment in retail businesses.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of the company in Asia – Mr. Scott Price said in the statement, cited by Financial Times: “Walmart is committed to India and we are excited about our growth plans.We will continue to focus on the cash-and-carry format as we are very happy with the way it has shaped up in the past few years.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been relying on its sales in overseas economies in order to boost companys growth. The retailer said that the new stores are expected to open over the next four to five years, while they will provide a variety of bulk goods to customers ranging from hotels and restaurants to small family-owned shops.

The announcement comes only a day after an interview with the companys Chairman Mr. Michael T. Duke about Wal-Marts plans to go green was published by the Wall Street Journal. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been following a strategy focused on making the companys operations more eco-friendly for years. This ambitious goal has become an inspiration for other supply chains all over the world.

In a detailed interview with the Editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal Gerard Baker, which emphasized mainly on the “green” policy of Wal-Mart, companys Chairman Mr. Duke said: “Weve had a big initiative in other countries to try to raise the bar with factories on how product is manufactured. (…) And I think weve made some progress in recent years. (…) With the focus on sustainability and with rising cost of energy and moving product all over the world, it makes more sense in the long term for more product to be made closer to the consumer.”

According to Financial Times, shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lost 0.37% to 77.89 USD on the NYSE today, while companys one-year return rate was -0.38%. According to data published by CNN Money, the 23 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have a median target of 81.00, with a high estimate of 90.00 and a low estimate of 66.00. The median estimate represents a +4.01% increase from the last price of 77.89.