BBG: Walmart’s booming China business paved way for JD.com split

BLOOMBERG reports:

Walmart Inc. is flying so high on the strength of its Chinese operations that it’s exited a long-time local partnership, an outlier in a consumer landscape that’s increasingly hostile to foreign brands.

As other Western consumer giants exit China or lose market share to local rivals, the US retailer remains its biggest hypermarket operator. That’s thanks in large part to Sam’s Club, which in the country is a members-only chain offering premium goods. The franchise is continuing to drive double-digit sales growth, Walmart executives said on an earnings call this month, and half of all China sales are digital.

The booming demand for Sam’s Club made it possible for Walmart to build its own e-commerce app, a rarity in China, where major western retailers mostly rely on local platforms like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Taobao and Tmall. The number of e-commerce orders being delivered within one hour rose 28% in the last quarter, to 59 million, the company said. And the Sam’s Club’s membership model has been so successful it’s being copied by some competitors…

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