Walmart has annouced plans to increase its presence in the booming Chinese e-commerce market by taking a controlling share in local online retailerYihaodian.
According to a statement from Walmart, the new investment into Yihaodian would push its stake in the company up to around 51 per cent. The investment was still subject to government regulatory approval, however. Walmart did not disclose the size of its current share in the company.
'E-commerce has been booming for years in China and in many other sectors, and it has only been very recently that it is for supermarket type of goods,' James Roy, a senior analyst with Shanghai-based China Market Research Group, told Reuters. 'It is a good investment for Walmart as it has a lot of potential.'
Roy told the news source customers who ordered from Yihaodian bought more high-end products, adding that this was a good fit for Walmart.
Yihaodian employed 5,400 staff and operates a logistics network in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu, and serviced a growing customer base with same-day and next-day deliveries, Reuters reported.
The value of China's e-commerce industry was expected to top US$118bn in gross merchandise value last year. The Boston Consulting Group predicted it would become the world’s largest e-commerce market in 2015.
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