Throwing light on the synergies with Flipkart, Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer on Monday said the latter can learn a lot from the former in terms of technology as "Flipkart has a good team of engineers and strong footing in analytics that can be utilised by Walmart in its cash and carry business".

Iyer said that nothing had changed for the two firms post the deal. "We share best practices freely with each other now. Will have multiple synergies in the long-term," he said.

Iyer said the immediate focus will be on the customer.

Nothing is expected to happen on the integration front for atleast the next 2-3 months, according to Iyer.

Walmart, meanwhile, can share best practices with Flipkart in terms of merchandising as well as strength in the grocery and fresh foods space. The other space where synergies could play out will be in the logistics and warehousing space. The companies are working on how these can be integrated together in the long-term, said Iyer.

There are many parallels between Walmart’s purchase of Jet and its decision to buy a controlling stake in Flipkart. India is a critical market for retail companies and e-commerce players are battling for a bigger share in one of the world's fastest growing major economies.

Walmart is using Jet as a weapon to fight Amazon online and target customers it previously couldn't reach, said a report by Business Insider.

Flipkart will look to leverage Walmart’s retail expertise and knowledge of the grocery and merchandise supply chain management.

However, according to Iyer, at this point, the key focus area for Walmart in India will be to focus on store expansion as well as building it's omnichannel play in the B2B e-commerce space.

With an aim to have more than 50 cash and carry stores in India over the next 4-5 years, Walmart continues on its aggressive store roll out strategy. The company has now come up with its second store in Ludhiana, which is also it's sixth store in Punjab.

"After six years we are launching an organic store which has been built by Walmart ground up. Deliveries to members from this store will be through electric vehicles," said Iyer.

This store in Ludhiana is Walmart's 22nd cash and carry store and the retailer expects to open about 8-10 wholesale stores over the next year.

First Published:Sept 24, 2018 12:58 PM IST