As WalMart expanded its international business, the company wanted to bring ideas from Massmart to other markets, executives said last week.
Walmart’s hotly debated purchase of a majority share in Massmart will also put Walmart in the building supply business. The company expects the acquisition to close in June.
JP Suarez, senior vice-president of international business development, said Walmart intended to expand Massmart’s footprint in southern Africa, where the chain operates as far north as Ghana and Nigeria.
One priority was to offer more refrigerated food, a category lacking among Massmart and its competitors, Suarez said.
“It’s going to be a real win for the customer. It’s something Walmart has great expertise in,” said Cathy Smith, Walmart’s international chief financial officer.
The Massmart acquisition gives Walmart access to 50 million new customers.
Massmart’s Builder’s Warehouse line would be a new venture for Walmart, which Suarez said had development potential. “We do want to take that capability and learn and apply it to any other market it might be relevant to,” he said.
Smith said Walmart was working to expand online offerings overseas. It was offering home delivery of groceries in Britain and Japan, and in Brazil it already offered 10 times as many products online as customers could find in stores.
Smith said Walmart was sticking to its model of minimising operating costs, buying for less and passing savings on to customers. It also planned to spend R100 million to help local farmers and suppliers to do business with it. – Sapa-AP