Bharti Group's retail venture in partnership with the world's biggest retailer Wal-Mart is going to be a low-key affair with its launch planned in phases over a period of time.
"We will not go for a national launch. It would be in phases similar to our telecom business model," Bharti Group chairman and managing director Sunil Bharti Mittal said in Kolkata on Monday.
Bharti Group, seeking to capture the retail boom, has planned to invest $2-2.5 billion till 2015 in the sector. It has entered into an equal joint venture with Wal-Mart for the wholesale cash and carry business, but the front-end retail would be handled by the company alone.
"Bharti will be in the frontline and Wal-Mart in cash and carry," Mittal said, adding that this model is likely to remain till the government eases FDI norms in retail.
In the cash