Walmart chalks up $1.89B sales in China
Walmart's Chinese subsidiary chalked up sales of 11.54 billion yuan (US$1.89 billion) in 2013, doubling its stock keeping unit (SKU) to 3.4 million over the previous year.
Yihaodian.com also saw its registered user base climb to 57 million from 29 million in 2012, its chairman Yu Gang, told local reporters at briefing last week. The company saw stellar results in its imported food business, with its sales of imported milk accounting for 37.2 percent of China's total imported goods from January to November 2013.
Walmart owns a 51 percent stake in Yihaodian.com following a 2012 deal to increase its investment in the Chinese e-commerce site. The U.S. online retailer in 2011 set up its China headquarters in Shanghai and employs over 90,000 in the country, where it operates various store chains including Smart Choice, Trust-Mart, and Sam's Club.
Yihaodian.com runs operating centers in Quanzhou and Jinan, located in the Fujian and Shandong province, respectively, as well as a warehouse in Hongmei, Guangdong province.
Yu said the company's 2014 gameplan will focus on five key areas including expanding its product categories and mobile business, as well as deploying big data tools.
During his visit to Beijing in October 2013, Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke said the company was looking to open 110 new facilities in China over the next three years through to 2016, expanding into Tier-2, -3, and -4 cities. The company opened new distribution centers in Wuhan and Shenyang late-2013, with plans to open more this year. Duke said then: "China is a key strategic market for Walmart and we are very well positioned to serve the country's emerging middle-class with great products they can trust. Our management team is committed to continued growth in large and smaller cities across China... Our investments in new stores, innovation, and retail supply chain will create jobs and support China's plans for growth."
Walmart's China sales, however, are far from the country's market leaders Taobao and Tmall, which clocked over 30 billion yuan (US$4.9 billion) on a single day during the Cyber Monday shopping festival on November 11, 2013. Both sites are operated by Chinese internet giant, Alibaba Group.
Competition in China's e-commerce market is heating up with players including Tencent Holdings, which just last week invested US$193.45 million into logistics company China South City Holdings, as they look to grab a share of the country's budgeoning online retail industry.