Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    THE world’s largest retailer, Walmart, said yesterday it plans to expand its sales network in China by adding another 30 to 40 stores as it seeks to raise profitability in a slowing retail sector.

    It also plans to spend more than 300 million yuan (US$43.61 million) to upgrade 50 existing stores in China, build more distribution centers, and speed up its e-commerce expansion, among other plans that it expects will help it grow in a key strategic market.

    The retailer, which saw revenue of its China division growing by 3.1 percent to nearly US$500 billion in the previous financial year (February 2016 to January 2017), said it was the best performing year in China in five years. Its sales in the fourth financial quarter (November 2016 to January 2017) rose 5.4 percent from a year ago, while per ticket sales increased by 5.2 percent.

    “The year of 2016 was our best performing year in five years,” said Dirk Van den Berghe, president and CEO of Walmart China. “For 2017, we plan to speed up business integration and improve customers’ shopping experience. We also plan to continue to deepen the cooperation with JD.com.”

    The U.S. company is tackling tough global economic conditions and a fundamental change in China’s retail sector, as annual sales growth slows and consumers move towards shopping online.

    Walmart has moved to profit from China’s changing retail landscape by embracing e-commerce. It launched its own shopping app and partnered with China’s second-largest e-commerce firm JD.com.

    The retailer remodeled 60 old stores and opened 24 new stores in China last year, including 21 supermarkets and three Sam’s Club stores. Among the up-to-40 new stores it expects to open this year, three to five will be Sam’s Club outlets, encouraged by the growing popularity of the members-only format in China, the retailer said. The locations will be in Beijing, Shenzhen, where there are already two Sam’s Club stores, Nanchang in Jiangxi Province, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province and Changsha in Hunan Province. The Futian Sam’s Club store has retained its sales crown among all Walmart stores globally for the ninth consecutive year.

    Walmart also plans to build a large distribution center in Guangdong, which will be its first in China to be built in accordance to its international standards.