A member store funded by US-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest chain store retailer, recently was opened in this capital of Yunnan Province.
Called the Sam's Club, the members-only store is supposed to only serve those people who have membership cards.
In 1996, the corporation opened its first Sam's Club member store and shopping plaza in Shenzhen, one of the country's first special economic zones in Guangdong Province.
There are 14 Wal-Mart branches operating across the country at present, involving a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan (US$145 million).
The shopping plaza under Wal-Mart, which was opened in Kunming in 1999, has realized some five million yuan (US$ 602,000) in profits and tax turnover over the past two years.
Seeing a large retailing market in west China, Wal-Mart is planning to increase its investment in the vast area, said James Lee, deputy president and CEO of the Wal-Mart China.
There are a total of 4,000 Wal-Mart member stores in the world, including 500 Sam's Clubs.
(Eastday 07/30/2001)
