<p>During a press event in Beijing, Walmart said it plans to open 110 new facilities in China from 2014 to 2016 in addition to the 30 it already opened this year, ultimately adding 19,000 employees to its roster. This is in an effort to centralize distribution and lower costs, according to the Wall Street Journal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “We’ve got a great journey ahead of us, but we’re excited about our progress,” said Greg Foran, Walmart’s China CEO. Foran said he plans to build 8 to 16 distribution centers over the next year in northern Shenyang, from which they can supply nearby stores.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Along with this shift in its China strategy, Foran said the company would build clusters of stores in cities where its outlets already exist, as opposed to its old model of trying to make a mark by opening a new store in each major city. Scott Price, Walmart’s Asia chief executive, also hopes to seize on China’s online shopping craze, enabling customers to pick up their online orders at the retail outlet. According to Reuters, Walmart’s e-commerce business grew about 30% in the first half of the year. In addition to better policed supply chains to ensure quality, Foran said Walmart is also going to offer more imported food.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Although the chain didn’t disclose sales figures for China specifically, Walmart’s international operations posted $135 billion in sales in the year that ended January 31. However, the growth rate slowed to 7.4% in the most recent fiscal year from 15.2% the year before, according to Wall Street Journal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> How will Walmart’s new strategy in China continue to affect its international sales?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more comments and opinions.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304799404579154572506642240" target="_new"> Wall Street Journal </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/24/us-walmart-china-idUSBRE99N04S20131024" target="_new"> Reuters </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
