Walmart’s China operation is still small in the group’s overall mix, but it is growing fast. China represents 3% of Walmart’s total business, yet the company said the market generated $24.6 billion in sales in its past fiscal year, up 19.3%. Last quarter, sales rose 20.7%, well ahead of the company’s 5.9% growth overall.
The engine is Sam’s Club. Fitch Ratings senior director Cathy Chao estimates the membership warehouses contribute about 70% of Walmart revenue in China. The business has expanded from 15 clubs in 2016 to 67 in May.
Christina Zhu, Walmart China’s president and CEO, said at the Fortune Leaders Forum in Macau that customers everywhere want 'assortment, value, convenience, and emotional experiences.' She said Sam’s Club serves 'upper-middle-class families in Chinese cities' and that the chain thinks of itself 'less as a retailer, less as a channel' and more as 'buying agents for members.'
That formula has held up despite a weak consumer backdrop. Consumer-goods retail sales in China grew 1.1% in the first eight months of the year, down from 4.6% growth in the same period in 2025, and just 0.4% year over year in August. The report cited high unemployment and a real-estate crisis as pressure points on spending.
Walmart’s answer has been speed and scale. The company has leaned into digital-first operations, with stores serving as fulfillment centers. In Shenzhen’s Qianhai district, the Sam’s Club format pairs bulk shopping with curated goods tailored to local demand, including gift boxes of mooncakes and abalone for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The membership model is also producing loyalty. Sam’s Club had 10.7 million members in China as of June, each paying at least 260 yuan, or $39, a year for basic access. During holiday periods such as Chinese New Year, staff in Shenzhen said customers line up for more than an hour to get in. The clubs have even drawn tourists from Hong Kong, with package tours built around warehouse shopping and arranged shipping for large purchases.
Walmart has not treated China as an easy market. Since 2016, it has closed underperforming stores and shifted more focus to Sam’s Club and online offerings. The result is a China business that is now generating more revenue than it did in 2019, when its footprint was at its largest.
Much of that turnaround has happened under Zhu, who joined Walmart in May 2020 after stints at McKinsey and Honeywell. She became the first woman and first native Chinese person to hold the role.
The market has already voted. When consumers are squeezed, they still spend for efficiency, quality and certainty. Sam’s Club is showing that even in a slowdown, free enterprise rewards the operators that deliver real value instead of slogans.
And there is a broader lesson for retailers everywhere: margins follow discipline. The companies that respect the customer’s budget, time and expectations can still grow, even when the macro picture gets ugly.
