Retailer giant Walmart recently announced that it is planning to open 40 Sam's Club stores in China by 2020. Walmart said that this plan is part of the company's effort to expand its retail footprint and market visibility in China which is considered as one of the biggest economies in the world. Sam's Club is a high-end membership store that Walmart operates.
As of this writing, Walmart currently operates 23 Sam's Club stores in 19 Chinese cities spread throughout the country. Walmart said that while this is a relatively small number, it currently counts around two million members.
Sam's Club stores in China operate in fashion as those in the United States. Among the top products offered in the store is the top quality fresh produce. Walmart has consistently grown the number of its Sam's Club stores since its launch in 1996.
Sam's Club stores fall under Walmart's China division. Aside from this high-end store, it also operates a number of hypermarkets and compact "community based" small supermarket businesses.
China has one of the largest online retail user bases in the world. Seeing this as an opportunity, Walmart also operates an online grocery delivery business called JD Daojia. This online platform was conceived under its partnership with tech giant JD.com. Walmart is also a party to the WeChat mini-program which counts more than 30 million members.
Walmart continues to establish its presence in China over the past couple of years. In 2018, the company opened 33 new stores in China. This includes four of Sam's Club branches, 21 hypermarkets, and eight compact supermarket stores.
Walmart's growth in China is backed by the integration of artificial intelligence in order to help improve growth and seamless integration into both its online and offline businesses. In a statement, Walmart president and chief executive Doug McMillion said, "Earlier we were reliant on the intuitions and experiences of the local operation team. With the use of technology like AI and big data, we are getting more accurate answers."
In order to keep up with the latest trend in technology, Walmart constantly works with tech startups. One of the many startups Walmart is working with is the new Omega platform which allows retail startups to collaborate with Walmart China in order to create tech solutions to improve customer services.
In an interview with China Daily, Mr. McMillion said that China continues to be one of the company's largest and most important markets.
