Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) today announced that its @WalmartLabs operation is expanding in Bangalore with the hiring of 100 additional developers and a move into a new facility.
Wal-Mart plans to hire an additional 100 people to create a next-generation e-commerce platform. The new platform is designed to connect Walmart’s digital and physical properties worldwide giving customers and suppliers a seamless way to interact and shop across any device or store anywhere in the world.
Silicon Valley-based @WalmartLabs, a unit of Walmart Global e-Commerce, is the company’s hub for creating platforms and products around social and mobile commerce. They design software to help customers discover, research and shop for products through mobile devices, online or at physical stores.
A year ago, Wal Mart’s senior vice-president of global e-commerce Anand Rajaraman had announced the start of hiring of about 100 engineers for the lab. Wal Mart had joined Amazon, Google and Yahoo in having engineering operations in Bangalore.
Over the last five months, @WalmartLabs, a unit of Walmart Global e-Commerce, has been building its India operations with a focus on social and digital technology. The company is looking to recruit engineering talent in the areas of high scale computing, network infrastructure, systems administration and big data.
“In the past few months, @WalmartLabs India has attracted best-of-class talent into the group. As we expand our operations, we look forward to adding to this base to create a team whose focus is to build products that matter to millions of customers around the globe,” Jeremy King, Chief Technology Officer of Walmart Global e-Commerce said.
Meanwhile, Wal Mart’s rival Amazon.com, is rumored to be planning a full-scale India launch later this year. India’s e-commerce business is among the fastest growing sectors in the country. It is not clear whether Wal Mart will also target the e-commerce segment in India later on.
Wal-Mart is the world’s largest company, with sales of close to half a trillion dollars (Rs 21 lakh crore) and 21 lakh (2.1 million) employees globally. It has 9,700 retail units under 69 different banners in 28 countries.
Wal-Mart almost got permission to set up shop in India, but the regulation was later withdrawn after smaller shopkeepers and trade unions protested.