Wal-Mart turns six

YESTERDAY marked the sixth anniversary of Wal-Mart’s entry to China in Shenzhen. Rather than celebrate the occasion with gala events, the No. 1 of the world’s top 500 companies appeared very low-key, staging only some small activities in its local outlets. Hankson Zeng, an official with the Public Relations Department of Wal-Mart China, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, told Shenzhen Daily his company would put more effort into making customers happy with its service and merchandise.Wal-Mart China has grown up in Shenzhen with the local retail industry. Six years ago, Shenzhen was an industry minnow with none of its stores among the country’s top 100. Last year, however, seven local stores were among China’s top 100, and Shenzhen had six of the top 10 stores in Guangdong Province.Wal-Mart China now has 20 outlets, seven of which are in Shenzhen. It is expected to open 14 more in the near future, two of which will be in Shenzhen.After Wal-Mart China’s local partner received its first dividends last year, many believe the company has started turning a profit.Sam’s Club in Shenzhen set Wal-Mart’s global single day revenue record on the day before the Chinese Lunar New Year in February.There are only 60 expatriates among Wal-Mart China’s more than 10,000 employees. Chinese employees have been selected to head 13 of the 20 Wal-Mart stores in China. In 2000, Wal-Mart bought more than US$10 billion worth of goods from China.Last year, the company moved its global purchasing center to Shenzhen from Hong Kong. It is believed that the region’s extraordinary manufacturing capability was the big attraction for Wal-Mart. It is also believed that its burgeoning presence in China will help turn the region turning into a “world factory.”