Wal-Mart Goes To India
GOOD LUCK TO WAL-MART’S U.S. SUPPLIERS, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED IT. WAL-MART TO INDIA: “FANTASTIC”
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Washington, D.C., May 12, 2005 – As if it’s not enough that over 70% of the merchandise on Wal-Mart’s shelves comes from China, Wal-Mart is now stepping up its production of goods in India for export to its stores – and with it, the continued exporting of American jobs. This news comes as Wal-Mart hosts its third annual two-day suppliers’ fair at their Bentonville headquarters:
President and CEO of Wal-Mart International John B. Menzer told reporters in New Delhi that if his company could open stores in India, it would be able to source more products from the country. “We have growing Indian partners. We have great suppliers in this market. It is our fastest growing export market,” Menzer said after meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This year, Menzer said, the Bangalore center is expected to export products worth over US$1.5 billion (euro1.16 billion) to Wal-Mart stores worldwide. [Forbes, 5/12/05]
Menzer said, “Indian economy is fantastic...there is room for everyone.” He said India was a very attractive market for Wal-Mart for sourcing products. “It is the fastest-growing export market for Wal-Mart globally," he said. “We expect a 30 per cent rise on this this year,” he said, pointing out that low-cost was a big attraction. [Press Trust of India, 5/12/05]
From toys to apparel to housewares and across their shelves, Wal-Mart “stocks its shelves” with merchandise manufactured in China. According to Ted Fishman, author of the newly published China, Inc., “…there’s a Chinese component in virtually every aisle you walk there in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart is the conduit for all of the output of the Chinese economy directly into American lives.” Fishman also notes, “…70 percent of the things sold in Wal-Mart stores have a Chinese component to them.” And a stock analyst for Gladstone Capital notes that figure is even higher, saying, “They have about 70 percent of their products coming from China, not including the food products.” The “Buy American” program has virtually vanished, as “its shelves bear little trace of the ‘Buy American’ philosophy of its founder,” notes the Washington Post. [CNN, 2/16/05; NPR, 2/12/05; Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 3/27/05; Gladstone Capital Quarterly Shareholders Call, 2/10/05; Washington Post, 10/29/03]
