5
RETAIL NEWS CAPSULE
PHILIPPINE RETAILING
Walmart’s
Flipkart confirms
it is entering the
food retail
business in India
India’s Flipkart is entering the food retail business as the
e-commerce giant looks to expand its reach in the nation.
Flipkart, which sold majority stake in the company to Walmart for
$16 billion last year, has registered an entity called “Flipkart
Farmermart Pvt Ltd” — in compliance with local laws — that will
focus on food retail.
The extended business represents an important part of the
company's efforts to boost Indian agriculture as well as food
processing industry in the country. It is already working with
hundreds of thousands of small farmers for the business.
The announcement comes as Flipkart’s chief rival Amazon
begins to expand its food retail business in the country. The
company has already committed to invest about $500 million in
the course of the next five years to build its own private label
food products and engage with third-party sellers. In recent
years, Amazon India has established or started Amazon Now,
Prime Now and Amazon Fresh in the nation.
Indian laws permit e-commerce companies to sell food items
directly to consumers. For other categories of items,
e-commerce businesses work with third-party sellers.
TechCrunch, 10/15/2019
NEDA presses for
sustainability,
environmental
impact accounting
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
said it is pressing companies and households to adopt a
sustainable approach to consumption and production, in part
by better accounting for environmental and social costs of
their actions.
NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon launched their
Philippine Action Plan for Sustainable Consumption and
Production (SCP), which will act as a guide on the
implementation of SCP for all sectors.
SCP minimizes the negative environmental impact of
consumption and production while promoting quality of life
without compromising resources for future generations,
according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The SCP strategic framework aims to increase awareness
among Filipinos and encourage them to shift to a more
sustainable and “climate-smart” practices and lifestyles.
Edillon said that the country’s total population is expected to
rise by an additional 8.3 million by 2022, and grow to 140
million by 2040. At the same time, the country is currently
suffering from declining quality of air mainly due to emissions
from transport and industry, especially in highly urbanized
cities.
Photo from: www.business-standard.com
Business World, 11/5/2019