While Walmart’s sales fell short of expectations this holiday weekend, and its website crashed on “Black Friday,” the company announced a new deal today that will expand its empire into India. Partnering with the Bharti Group, India’s top telecommunications company, the joint-venture plans to open “several hundred” stores, beginning next summer. The partnership is necessary to skirt India’s rules which bar foreign retail chains, except for “single-brand specialty stores.”

Mittal said it would take several months to set up the first stores, adding that the deal was in “compliance with existing (government foreign investment) rules.”

The tie-up between the world’s largest retailer and Bharti is the first direct assault on India’s 15 million small shops, the highest density of retail outlets in the world and with annual turnover of 300 billion dollars which is expected to double by 2015, according to consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers. – AFP

So, there are a few thousand more downtowns that can expect to be wiped out, and a few million more small businesses that can expect to close.

~Stef