After French retailer Carrefour reached an agreement to sell a majority stake in its Chinese unit last month, German wholesaler Metro AG’s sale of its own China business entered late-stage bids, reported Caixin.
Previously in 2013, British retailer Tesco reduced its stake in its China operations to 20%, South Korean retailer E-Mart Inc. closed the last of its China stores and another British retailer, Marks & Spencer Group PLC, also bowed out. All eyes are now on Walmart to see if the US giant will be the last man standing.
The company said this month it will invest RMB 8 billion ($1.16 billion) to build or renovate logistics centers. It has also, since 2016, partnered with others such as JD.com. Elsewhere, it’s testing smartphone-based checkouts. The US retailer seems to be pulling out all the stops to make it work in China, but if the stores it’s shuttered since 2017 are anything to go by, Walmart’s China success is far from assured.
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