Reuters reports that Wal-Mart Stores has entered into a joint venture with the China International Trust and Investment Corp (CITIC) that will have them opening stores on China's booming eastern coast, especially in and around Shanghai, China’s biggest city.
Details of the deal were not available, though Chinese law will allow foreign companies to own only up to 65 percent of any retail joint venture.
Wal-Mart has 22 stores in China, but this is the company’s first move into the eastern part of the country. Competitors such as Carrefour already have a presence in the region.
Details of the deal were not available, though Chinese law will allow foreign companies to own only up to 65 percent of any retail joint venture.
Wal-Mart has 22 stores in China, but this is the company’s first move into the eastern part of the country. Competitors such as Carrefour already have a presence in the region.
- KC's View:
- Possibly just as important as the new stores will be the procurement center that Wal-Mart will operate in eastern China, allowing it to source new and inexpensive merchandise for its divisions elsewhere in the world, and ultimately to undercut everybody else on price.
