山姆超市在中国成功的秘密

Speaking of the recent supermarket market in China, there is a very interesting phenomenon.

Many foreign supermarkets have left China or closed many stores because business was bad.

However, one American supermarket is doing very well, and is even continuously opening new stores.

This supermarket is Sam's Club, which is owned by Walmart.

Why are other foreign stores retreating, while Sam's Club is advancing?

The main reason is that Sam's Club understands Chinese people's habits very well.

It did not completely copy the American way of doing things, but instead made many changes to adapt to the Chinese market.

We call this approach "localization."

Simply put, it means becoming more like a local store.

Let's first look at how it sells things.

In the US, items in Sam's Club are usually very large and heavy in portion.

For example, steaks; in American stores, one steak might weigh one kilogram.

This is because American families have more people, and their refrigerators are very large.

But in China, the situation is different.

Nowadays, Chinese families are getting smaller, and many families have only two or three people.

According to the latest data, the average Chinese family has only 2.5 people.

Moreover, Chinese household refrigerators are usually not as big as American ones.

If you buy a huge steak, can't finish it at once, and can't fit it in the fridge, it becomes very troublesome.

Sam's Club discovered this problem, so they changed the size of the steaks.

Current packages are only a few hundred grams, which is very suitable for Chinese families.

This is a very smart change.

Besides changing sizes, they also sell many things that only Chinese people like.

Especially during important festivals like the Spring Festival.

They will sell some traditional gifts, such as nuts, ginseng, and some special decorations.

You definitely won't see these things in American stores.

But in China, these things are very popular and often sell out very quickly.

This shows that Sam's Club really respects the preferences of Chinese customers.

In addition, Sam's Club's store opening strategy is also changing.

Previously, it only opened stores in the biggest cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

But now, there are quite a few stores in big cities, and competition is fierce.

So, Sam's Club has started to open stores in some smaller cities.

For example, in some cities in Jiangsu Province, although they are not the biggest cities, the people there are also quite wealthy.

With economic development, the income of people in these places has increased.

They also want to buy high-quality items and are willing to spend money to get a membership card.

This has brought many new opportunities to Sam's Club.

Let's compare Sam's Club's competitors again.

One of its main rivals is Costco, which is also an American membership-based supermarket.

But Costco has relatively few stores in China.

This is because Costco likes to buy its own land and then build its own buildings to open stores.

Although doing this has benefits, it costs a lot of money and takes a long time.

Therefore, Costco's speed of opening stores is relatively slow.

Whereas Sam's Club has been developing in China for many years, and its speed of opening stores is very fast.

By the end of last year, Sam's Club already had more than sixty stores in China.

Besides American competitors, local Chinese supermarkets are also very formidable.

For example, stores like Freshippo, they also understand Chinese people's needs very well.

So, the pressure Sam's Club faces is actually not small.

To maintain its advantage, Sam's Club must guarantee the quality of its goods.

For membership stores, quality is the most important thing.

If the goods are not good, customers won't be willing to pay for a membership card.

However, because stores are opening too fast, management becomes more difficult.

Recently, Sam's Club has also encountered some food safety issues.

This makes some guests feel worried.

To solve this problem, Walmart decided to invest more money to inspect product quality.

They stated they would increase spending on quality control by 35 percent.

This shows they know that only if goods are safe and of good quality will customers be willing to come even if they spend more money.

Although Walmart's ordinary large supermarkets are decreasing, Sam's Club stores are increasing.

This reflects the changes in the Chinese market.

People's living standards have improved, and their requirements for quality of life have also become higher.

Ordinary cheap things may no longer satisfy everyone; people want special, good service more.

Additionally, young people nowadays are very busy with work.

They don't have time to go shopping often.

The delivery service provided by Sam's Club solves this problem exactly.

If you buy a lot of heavy things, carrying them home yourself is very tiring.

But if there is delivery service, it becomes very convenient.

This is also an important reason for Sam's Club's success.

In general, if foreign companies want to succeed in China, they must understand China.

They cannot just use their own country's methods; they need to see what Chinese guests truly need.

Sam's Club is a very good example.

It not only sells American things but also Chinese things.

It not only considers its own habits but also considers how big the customer's refrigerator is.

This attitude of willingness to change has allowed it to win opportunities amidst fierce competition.

Of course, there are still many challenges in the future.

Whether it is foreign competitors or Chinese competitors, everyone is working hard.

Whoever can consistently provide good merchandise and good service will be the one to stay in the end.