Walmart’s Booming China Business Paved Way for JD.com Split
- Sam’s Club drives now-rare China growth for a foreign retailer
- US firm is less reliant on local partner’s infrastructure
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Walmart Inc. is flying so high on the strength of its Chinese operations that it’s exited a long-time local partnership, an outlier in a consumer landscape that’s increasingly hostile to foreign brands.
As other Western consumer giants exit China or lose market share to local rivals, the US retailer remains its biggest hypermarket operator. That’s thanks in large part to Sam’s Club, which in the country is a members-only chain offering premium goods. The franchise is continuing to drive double-digit sales growth, Walmart executives said on an earnings call this month, and half of all China sales are digital.