Wal-Mart to hire 150,000 in China
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Wal-Mart to hire 150,000 in China
Says finding experienced retail workers is a challenge
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
Last Update: 3:01 PM ET Mar 20, 2006
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is hiring more people than it needs in its China outlets to begin training workers now, as part of a plan to hire another 150,000 people there over the next five years.
Already the largest retailer on earth, Wal-Mart is looking to greatly expand its presence in China, where it employs 30,000 people to staff some 56 stores, spokesman Bill Wertz said Monday.
Though the Bentonville, Ark.-based company has not put an exact number on how many stores it would like to operate in China, it is planning to open 15 to 20 stores this year, hoping to duplicate that again next year.
"We expect to significantly increase the pace of our building there in the future," Wertz said.
"We've seen an outstanding acceptance of our stores in China," he added. "Everywhere we open new stores there are huge crowds attending and everywhere we build there are more applicants than we can accept.
But hiring in China is a "challenge," Wertz said. "We're not able to draw from a labor pool of experienced supercenter or retail workers. We need to train them ourselves."
Currently, Wal-Mart has 51 supercenter stores in China, three Sam's Club and two Neighborhood Market stores, the smallest store concept. Wertz said the retailer hasn't determined exactly what types of stores will be built in the future, but said most of them are likely to be the larger supercenter format, which also includes groceries. Wal-Mart's hiring expansion plans were first reported by Reuters.
Though Wal-Mart has been in China since 1994, its store growth has been hampered by strict restrictions on foreign retail that were only eased in 2004, Wertz said.
However, the company has been trading with China for many years with direct imports totaling $9 billion in 2004. Wertz said Wal-Mart estimates that another $9 billion worth of China imports comes through various vendors with which the company does business.
In comparison, Wal-Mart has more than out 3,700 stores in the U.S. There are about 700 stores in Mexico, nearly 300 in the United Kingdom and more than 260 in Canada.
However, there are no stores in India, another burgeoning populace. That country's laws prohibit direct foreign investment, but recently allowed single-store brands, such as Nike or Gap stores.
"Certainly, we have indicated our strong interest in a change there," Wertz said. Wal-Mart directly imports about $1 billion worth of goods from India and believes it buys another $600 million worth of imports through other suppliers.
