Local unions oppose Walmart's plan to open store in New York

, Sept 22: World's largest retailer

was opposed once again from opening a big-box store in the Big Apple by the local unions, said an agency report. However, unlike in India where several political parties are opposing the government's decision to welcome big retailers, fearing that it will only threaten local stored, it is mainly the business model of the Walmart that has kept it away from big cities, said the report.

Walmart, the world's third largest corporation and considered the largest private employer in the world with over two million employees, has over 4,000 stores in the US alone, although a few of them are located in the big cities. There is no Walmart unit in New York or within the limits of Washington DC but several sprawling Walmarts are located within 40 km in the adjacent suburbs of Maryland and Virginia.

According to the report, the Walmart, of late, has been looking for smaller locations in urban areas including New York, San Francisco and Washington. The first of the six Walmart departments in Washington is set to be set up by the end of this year.

In New York, however, the giant retailer withdrew from a project called Gateway II, which is being developed by Related Companies in Brooklyn after local unions protested against the idea of the corporation entering the urban areas, a leading daily in New York said last week.

The protesters were happy over Walmart's withdrawal, saying even the giant firm could not match the united resistance of the people of New York. However, Walmart sources said that they still had the plan to open a store in New York. They said most people of New York wanted them just like the case is in Washington as it would be convenient for the local residents to reach the stores if they were opened in the cities instead of faraway locations.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the giant retailer expected to open its first retail store in India in the next two years after the Indian government decided to allow in foreign direct investment in multi-brand retailers. Chief executive of Walmart Asia Scott Price said he was confident about their ventures in India and said he did not believe that infrastructure here was not suitable to modern retail.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)