Wal-Mart and Indian group Bharti have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for wholesale cash and carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India.

Bharti Wal-Mart Private Limited is a 50-50 joint venture company that will serve kirana stores, fruit and vegetable resellers, restaurants and other business owners. It also will serve other retailers such as Bharti Retail, which is setting up a chain of stores in India that are 100 percent owned and operated by Bharti.

The first wholesale cash-and-carry facility is targeted to open by the end of next year. Over the next seven years, the venture is expected to open 10 to 15 wholesale cash-and-carry facilities and employ approximately 5,000.

A typical facility will stand between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet and sell a wide range of fruits and vegetables, groceries and staples, stationery, footwear, clothing, consumer durables and other general merchandise items.