4. Walmart
Base: nationwide
Revenue: RMB 87.4 billion (US$13.7 billion)
Number of stores: 429
Founded in 1962, Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation and the world’s largest company by revenue in 2021 with over 10,500 stores in 24 countries. The retail giant entered China in 1996 and is now the fourth most popular supermarket chain in the country.
Walmart opened its first hypermarket and membership warehouse store “Sam’s Club” in Shenzhen back in 1996.
In 2020, Walmart recorded a sales revenue of RMB 87.4 billion (US$13.7 billion) and had 429 stores in more than 100 cities in China.
Walmart hypermarket is known for offering “worry-free” pricing and product bundles, while Sam’s Club offers upscale and nutritious products. Walmart is among the first retail chains to offer omnichannel shopping including online ordering and fast delivery within an hour.
Although its hypermarket business was battered by domestic competitors and supply chain blockage, its membership store Sam’s Club gained wide popularity due to rising demands for high-quality items and aspirational lifestyles among the high-end and young consumer groups.
By November last year, the membership base of Sam’s Club had surpassed 4 million. Sam’s Club also opened its flagship store in Shenzhen last year.
Equipped with an extensive distribution network, Walmart hypermarkets are often lauded for offering quality imported wines through its online store on one of China’s biggest ecommerce platforms JD.com and its wine sales events.
For its 2018 Autumn Wine Festival, Walmart exclusively offered 97 imported wine brands, along with wines from 11 major wine producing regions such as France, Italy and Chile. Walmart also partnered with well-known wineries including California’s wine giant E&J Gallo.
For Sam’s Club, the wines offered for its members are all from 15 classic wine producing regions such as Burgundy, Chablis and Prosecco. It also directly imports 8 types of wine through its private label Member’s Mark and offers high-quality wine at a relatively affordable price.
