Report: Tesco postpones opening wholesale stores in India

Mumbai, India -- A Monday report by Reuters said that the world’s third-largest retailer Tesco Plc has delayed its plans to set up wholesale stores in India, as it faces mountains of political red tape and controversy in the country.



Reuters, citing a report in the Business Standard newspaper, said that the supermarket giant will instead focus on setting up warehouses and back-end infrastructure.



Earlier in December, India suspended plans to open its $450 billion supermarket sector to foreign firms, backtracking from one of the government's boldest reforms in years in the face of a huge political backlash.



Other retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour and Germany's Metro have been progressing ahead with their wholesale operations in the country, according to the report.