Wal-Mart's China inventory to hit US$18b this year

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, says its inventory of stock produced in China is expected to hit US$18 billion this year, keeping the annual growth rate of over 20 per cent consistent over two years.

The trend is expected to continue, company officials revealed.

"We expect our procurement stock from China to continue to grow at a similar rate in line with Wal-Mart's growth worldwide, if not faster," said Lee Scott, the president and CEO (chief executive officer) of Wal-Mart.

An unnamed company official also stated the firm will extend its procurement base from South China's Pearl River Delta to the North and East China in the coming few years.

A market rumour says the retailer has its eyes on a 340,000-square metre warehouse at a logistics garden of the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Bonded Area.

Scott covertly visited the site earlier this month, and hopes to own the whole warehouse to accommodate the firm's further expansion in China.

At present, Wal-Mart has quite limited warehouse resources in East China.

Xu Jun, Wal-Mart China's director of external affairs, ruled out the rumour, saying the CEO has never visited that or any other site for a warehouse.

Nevertheless, he said China is Wal-Mart's most important supplier in the world. The overseas procurement home office in Shenzhen, a city of South China's Guangdong Province, has played a key role in the firm's global purchasing business.

Wal-Mart shifted its overseas procurement centre from Hong Kong to Shenzhen in February 2002 to better serve the purchasing and exporting business.

"If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China's eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada," Xu said.

By the end of September, 2004, the top seven trading partners to the Chinese mainland are the European Union, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), South Korea and China's Taiwan Province, state statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

Last year, the firm bought US$15 billion products from China, half from direct purchasing, the other from the firm's suppliers in China.

snip.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/29/content_395728.htm

Helping the Chinese economy, one piece of plastic crap at a time.

Or is that sears new mantra of consumption?

they petition the US gov't to destroy ours?

Better than China Mart, which is what I've been calling them lately.

"Shop there now, work there later"

China buys our debt.

Wal-Mart buys Chinese goods.

If this keeps up--and there's no reason to expect it won't even deepen--then in 50 years, your grandchildren will be working in sweatshops making toys for Chinese kids.

Not a small price to pay to make our rich richer, is it?

don't they know china has mandated millions of abortions on women who didn't want to lose the child?

Put your money where your "morals" are: Boycott Walmart