BENGALURU:Walmart Labsis taking 2,50,000 square feet of office space on lease inChennai, as the technology arm of retailer majorWalmartlooks to enhance its headcount and drive more innovation from India, two people aware of the deal said.
The upcoming facility at theRMZ Milleniabusiness park can seat at least 2,500 employees. The US-based firm currently employs around 2,000 people in India. “The deal is likely to be signed this week. There is some documentation work that is going on now. The firm does lot of product innovation for its retail and logistic arm and is looking at growing business in India,” one of the people said.
AWalmart Labs Indiaspokesperson declined to comment. Walmart has technology operations in Bengaluru and is driving more product ownership out of India for its global operations.
Currently, for Walmart globally, most of the technology-led innovation comes out of its centres in Bengaluru. The India arm accounts for around half of the global supply chain and data analytics teams for Walmart. “ln 2019, Chennai continued to see single-digit vacancy (9%) on the back of steady demand for Grade-A office spaces with rentals growing up to 8% on a year-onyear basis across prominent micro markets,” Anarock Property Consultants chairman Anuj Puri said.
March 21, 2020