Walmart Grabs Bigger Slice of Chinese Market

With online retail surging in China, competition on the rise
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 20, 2012 2:48 AM CST
Walmart Boosts Stake in China E-Biz Site
Walmart serves more than 200 million customers and members each week in its stores and clubs. Pictured above is a supercenter in China.   (Photo: Business Wire)

Walmart is stepping up its presence in China, buying 51% of online retailer Yihaodian, reports the Financial Times. Walmart has more than 350 stores in China, but relatively little presence online. And with China's online retail market expected to grow five-fold to $105 billion over the next two years, competition for the Internet is fierce there.

"We are very impressed with Yihaodian's strong management team, solid competence in supply chain management," said the president of Walmart's global e-commerce team. Founded in 2008, Yihaodian already sells more than 180,000 products, from home electronics to groceries. Walmart currently owns 18% of Yihaodian, and will require the Chinese government's approval to buy a bigger stake. (More Walmart stories.)

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