Wal-Mart, JD.com begin 'marriage'

The cooperation between Wal-Mart Stores Inc and JD.com Inc will not affect the American multinational retailer's plan for bricks-and-mortar stores in China, but the flagship internet store of Sam's Club China will be opened on JD in a few months.


In the past three weeks after the alliance between Wal-Mart and JD was reached in June, leaders of the two companies have been meeting on a weekly basis to begin execution of their in-depth strategic cooperation, said Shen Haoyu, CEO of JD Mall, which is the subsidiary that runs JD's online sales platform.


The flagship store of Sam's Club China is a priority for JD. "We are working closely according to our timeline. Taking the JD-based Sam's Club China flagship store for example, it will be launched within a couple of months," said Shen.


Scott Price, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia and chief administrative officer of Wal-Mart International, called their cooperation a "marriage".


"There is a huge opportunity for us, the agreement we made entering into this marriage will continue to develop based upon changing customers' needs, opportunities and competition. We see this is a marriage of two similar companies that are equal in strength but in different parts, that come together to form a powerful organization," said Price.


Price also noted that their cooperation with JD will not change Wal-Mart's plan to open 115 stores in China, including Sam's Club stores, in the three years between 2015 and 2017, but they will offer their customers a choice to buy either online or offline in the future. There are 13 Sam's Club stores operating in China.


According to the alliance formed between Wal-Mart and JD, Wal-Mart will receive about 5 percent stake in JD and the companies will partner in strategic areas.


"Wal-Mart's strength in its supplier chain is something JD urgently needs to develop. For the US retail giant, the collaboration with China's second-largest e-commerce platform will raise their competitiveness in the China market," said Li Chengdong, an e-commerce strategy analyst.


The article transsshipment from China Daily