BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Giant US retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to expand its footprint in China by nearly a third by opening 115 new stores by 2017 in a renewed push to lure China's grocery shoppers despite slowing growth.
"Our aim is to become an integral part of China's economy," chief executive Doug McMillon said at a news conference in Beijing yesterday. "China is a top priority."
Wal-Mart's new push in China comes as global supermarket firms seek ways to tackle slowing growth in the world's second-biggest economy.
The the world's biggest retailer in February said its China net sales declined 0.7% for the quarter ended Jan 31, with comparable same-store sales falling 2.3%.
As well as new stores to boost sales, Wal-Mart will close some under-performing stores and seek to tap into the faster-growing online grocery market through its Yihaodian.com service.
McMillon said he was excited by prospects for a platform that offered eight million products at end-2014, up from just 18,000 items in 2011.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said the 115 new stores would be opened in cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan between 2015 to 2017, without saying how much it would invest in the new outlets. It had 411 stores in China at the end of January this year, according to its annual report.
Wal-Mart said yesterday that it would remodel more than 50 of those this year at a cost of more than 370 million yuan ($60 million).
Scott Price, head of Wal-Mart's Asia operations, said the retailer would close an unspecified number of poorly performing stores after shutting 29 outlets in China last year.
Commenting on recent sales trends, he said, "There is some softening in retail sales but we've gained share ... in the hypermarket channel."
Wal-Mart, France's Carrefour SA and Britain's Tesco Plc have all seen sales growth slip over the last five years, losing market share to local rivals, according to a report published on Tuesday from Kantar Worldpanel.