说到跨国零售巨头在中国市场的沉浮录,这几年我们见证了太多令人唏嘘的离场与收缩,然而在这一片外资商超纷纷折戟沉沙的背景下,When it comes to the rise and fall of multinational retail giants in the Chinese market, we've witnessed far too many poignant departures and contractions in recent years, yet against this backdrop of foreign supermarkets falling one after another,
沃尔玛旗下的山姆会员店却走出了一条截然不同的上扬曲线。Walmart's Sam's Club has charted a distinctly different upward trajectory.
这不仅是一个关于商业模式幸存的故事,更是一场关于如何精准解读中国消费者心理、深度实施本土化策略的教科书级案例。This is not merely a story about a business model surviving, but a textbook case study in how to precisely decode Chinese consumer psychology and deeply implement localization strategies.
曾几何时,外资零售商仅仅依靠引入成熟的海外模式就能在中国市场攻城略地,但如今,这种简单粗暴的“复制粘贴”早已失效。There was a time when foreign retailers could conquer the Chinese market simply by introducing mature overseas models, but today, this crude "copy and paste" approach has long since stopped working.
山姆之所以能够在中国市场站稳脚跟,甚至在某些区域出现“一卡难求”的盛况,核心在于它真正破解了中国市场的特殊密码。The reason Sam's Club has been able to gain a firm foothold in the Chinese market — even seeing "membership cards hard to come by" in some regions — is that it has truly cracked China's unique market code.
我们不妨先从一个最具代表性的细节说起,那就是商品包装的微妙变化。Let's start with one of the most representative details: the subtle changes in product packaging.
这听起来似乎微不足道,但恰恰是这种对细节的极致把控,体现了零售商对本土生活方式的深刻洞察。This might sound trivial, but it's precisely this meticulous attention to detail that reflects a retailer's deep insight into local lifestyles.
比如山姆自有品牌Member's Mark旗下的美式牛排,如果完全照搬美国的销售标准,往往是粗犷的一公斤以上大包装。Take Member's Mark American-style steaks under Sam's private label — if sold entirely according to American standards, they would typically come in generous packages of over one kilogram.
对于拥有大型冷柜且习惯一周采购一次的美国家庭来说,这无可厚非。For American families with large freezers who are accustomed to shopping once a week, this makes perfect sense.
然而,山姆在中国的运营团队敏锐地发现,这种规格对于中国家庭来说不仅食用压力大,更是一个严峻的冰箱储存挑战。However, Sam's operations team in China keenly recognized that such portions not only create pressure to consume for Chinese families but also pose a serious refrigerator storage challenge.
于是,我们看到中国门店的牛排包装被精细化调整到了450克至800克之间。As a result, we see that steak packaging in Chinese stores has been precisely adjusted to between 450 and 800 grams.
这一改变的背后,依托的是详实的数据支撑。Behind this change is solid data support.
根据国家统计局的最新数据,2024年中国家庭户均人数已经降至2.51人。According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the average Chinese household size dropped to 2.51 people in 2024.
家庭结构的小型化,直接决定了消费场景的碎片化与精致化。The shrinking of family structures directly drives the fragmentation and refinement of consumption scenarios.
那种“囤积居奇”式的仓储购物体验,必须经过改良,才能适应中国核心城市寸土寸金的居住环境以及现代家庭追求食材新鲜度的饮食习惯。That "stockpile mentality" warehouse shopping experience must be adapted to fit the premium real estate of core Chinese cities and modern families' dietary habits of pursuing ingredient freshness.
除了包装规格的调整,产品选品的本土化更是山姆逆势突围的关键一招。Beyond packaging adjustments, product selection localization is an even more critical move in Sam's counter-trend breakthrough.
在刚刚过去的农历新年期间,如果你走进任何一家山姆门店,会发现货架上摆放的不再仅仅是进口的黄油与奶酪,而是充满了浓郁中国年味的铜葫芦摆件、During the recently passed Lunar New Year, if you walked into any Sam's Club store, you'd find that the shelves no longer held only imported butter and cheese, but were filled with items brimming with rich Chinese New Year flavors — copper gourd ornaments,
高档人参礼盒以及各式各样的传统干货。premium ginseng gift boxes, and various traditional dried goods.
这种“中西合璧”的选品策略,极大地消除了外资品牌与中国消费者之间的文化隔阂。This "East-meets-West" product selection strategy has greatly eliminated the cultural gap between the foreign brand and Chinese consumers.
甚至像坚果礼盒这样的热门单品,在春节前夕经常出现上架即售罄的火爆场面,足见其对节日消费心理的拿捏之精准。Even hot items like nut gift boxes frequently sell out immediately upon stocking during the pre-Spring Festival period, demonstrating just how precisely they've grasped the psychology of holiday consumption.
对此,苏商银行的特约研究员付一夫曾一针见血地指出,山姆在华扩张的成功,很大程度上是因为它成功切入了中国中产阶级家庭对于“品质消费”日益增长的需求。On this topic, Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Jiangsu Bank, has pointed out incisively that Sam's successful expansion in China is largely because it has successfully tapped into the growing demand for "quality consumption" among China's middle-class families.
这不仅仅是买东西,更是一种身份认同与生活品质的投射。This isn't just about buying things — it's a projection of identity and quality of life.
虽然宏观经济环境面临挑战,但中产群体对于食品安全、商品品质以及购物体验的要求并没有降低,反而在某种程度上变得更加挑剔。Although the macroeconomic environment faces challenges, the middle class's standards for food safety, product quality, and shopping experience haven't decreased — they've actually become even more discerning in some respects.
山姆恰恰通过严格的品控和差异化的选品,构建了一道护城河,满足了这部分人群“闭眼买”的心理需求。Sam's Club has built a moat through strict quality control and differentiated product selection, satisfying this demographic's psychological need to "buy with eyes closed."
与此同时,其强大的即时配送服务,又完美解决了仓储式购物“量大难拿”的痛点,让“囤货”变得不再是一种负担。At the same time, its powerful instant delivery service perfectly solves the pain point of warehouse shopping where items are "too bulky to carry," making stockpiling no longer a burden.
在扩张策略上,山姆也展现出了与竞争对手截然不同的节奏与打法。In terms of expansion strategy, Sam's has also demonstrated a rhythm and approach that is distinctly different from its competitors.
作为山姆在美国的老对手,Costco好市多直到2019年才姗姗来迟进入中国市场。As Sam's long-time rival in the US, Costco didn't enter the Chinese market until 2019.
Costco坚持的是一种更为稳健、甚至可以说是保守的策略,即“买地自建”模式。Costco adheres to a more cautious, even conservative strategy of "buying land and building from scratch."
这种模式虽然保证了资产的长期价值,但也极大地限制了开店速度。While this model ensures long-term asset value, it also significantly limits the speed of store openings.
目前Costco在中国大陆仅有七家门店,且高度集中在长三角与深圳,至今尚未涉足北京市场。Currently, Costco has only seven stores in mainland China, highly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Shenzhen, and has yet to enter the Beijing market.
相比之下,山姆的步伐则显得更加轻盈且激进。In contrast, Sam's pace appears much more nimble and aggressive.
仅在2025年一年,山姆就在中国大陆新开了10家门店,使得其年底的全国门店总数达到了63家。In 2025 alone, Sam's opened 10 new stores in mainland China, bringing its total nationwide store count to 63 by year's end.
这一扩张速度在实体零售普遍遇冷的当下,简直堪称奇迹。This expansion speed in an era when brick-and-mortar retail is generally struggling is nothing short of miraculous.
值得注意的是,山姆的触角正在从趋于饱和的一线城市,快速向二三线城市延伸。It's worth noting that Sam's reach is rapidly extending from increasingly saturated first-tier cities into second and third-tier cities.
去年年底,江苏的张家港和扬州迎来了新的山姆门店,这标志着其“下沉战略”的正式提速。Late last year, Zhangjiagang and Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province welcomed new Sam's Club stores, marking the official acceleration of its "market penetration strategy."
这背后的逻辑其实非常清晰:随着一线城市竞争加剧,像张家港、扬州这样经济发达的二三线城市,居民收入稳步增长,且由于房价压力相对较小,The logic behind this is actually very clear: as competition intensifies in first-tier cities, economically developed second and third-tier cities like Zhangjiagang and Yangzhou have steadily growing resident incomes, and because housing price pressure is relatively lower,
消费者的可支配收入和消费意愿反而更为强劲。consumers' disposable income and willingness to spend are actually even stronger.
此外,随着“返乡置业”和“回流就业”趋势的显现,这些下沉市场汇聚了大量拥有在一线城市生活经历的年轻人,他们对会员制超市的接受度极高,成为了山姆新的增长引擎。Furthermore, with the emerging trends of "returning home to buy property" and "reverse migration for employment," these lower-tier markets are gathering large numbers of young people with experience living in first-tier cities, who have high acceptance of membership-based supermarkets and have become Sam's new growth engine.
当然,这种高速扩张并非没有隐忧。Of course, this rapid expansion is not without concerns.
任何商业模式的快速复制,都不可避免地会对供应链管理和质量控制带来巨大压力。The rapid replication of any business model inevitably places enormous pressure on supply chain management and quality control.
过去一年中,关于山姆食品安全问题的报道偶有见诸报端,这无疑是给狂飙突进的扩张之路敲响了警钟。Over the past year, reports about food safety issues at Sam's have occasionally appeared in the media, undoubtedly serving as a warning bell for the breakneck expansion pace.
仓储会员店的核心竞争力在于“严选”与“品控”,一旦因为扩张过快而导致品控稀释,将会动摇其品牌根基。The core competitiveness of a warehouse membership store lies in "strict selection" and "quality control" — once quality control is diluted due to overly rapid expansion, it will shake the brand's foundation.
对此,沃尔玛中国的高层显然也有清醒的认识。On this front, Walmart China's senior leadership clearly has a sober understanding.
在沃尔玛2025年的投资者大会上,沃尔玛中国CEO朱晓静明确表示,公司将把年度质量控制预算提升35%。At Walmart's 2025 investor conference, Walmart China CEO Zhu Xiaojing explicitly stated that the company would increase its annual quality control budget by 35%.
这一表态,可以看作是山姆在追求速度的同时,试图重新平衡“质”与“量”的努力。This statement can be seen as Sam's effort to rebalance "quality" and "quantity" while pursuing speed.
从财务数据来看,沃尔玛在中国的转型策略显然是奏效的。From the financial data perspective, Walmart's transformation strategy in China is clearly working.
在截至10月31日的第三季度财报中,沃尔玛中国的总销售额同比增长近22%,达到61亿美元,这一增速远超其国际业务部门10.8%的平均水平。In the third-quarter earnings report ending October 31st, Walmart China's total sales grew nearly 22% year-over-year to $6.1 billion — a growth rate far exceeding the 10.8% average of its international business division.
其中,山姆会员店实现了双位数的交易量增长,成为了拉动整个沃尔玛中国业务的火车头。Among these, Sam's Club achieved double-digit transaction volume growth, becoming the locomotive driving the entire Walmart China business.
这是一个非常有趣的“双面”现象:一方面,沃尔玛传统的卖场业务正在经历痛苦的收缩与调整,门店数量从2020年的412家锐减至2025财年的283家;This is a very interesting "two-sided" phenomenon: on one hand, Walmart's traditional hypermarket business is undergoing painful contraction and adjustment, with store count plummeting from 412 in 2020 to 283 in fiscal year 2025;
而另一方面,while on the other hand,
山姆会员店却在同一片土壤上生机勃勃。Sam's Club is thriving vigorously on the same soil.
这其实折射出中国零售市场正在发生的深刻结构性变革:传统的“大而全”的一站式购物模式,正在被更具个性化、品质化和体验感的细分业态所取代。This actually reflects the profound structural transformation taking place in China's retail market: the traditional "big and comprehensive" one-stop shopping model is being replaced by more personalized, quality-driven, and experiential niche formats.
在这场激烈的市场厮杀中,山姆面对的不仅仅是老对手Costco,还有来自中国本土零售力量的强力围剿。In this fierce market battle, Sam's faces not only its old rival Costco but also a powerful siege from Chinese local retail forces.
像盒马鲜生、永辉超市以及以极致服务著称的胖东来,都在积极探索适合中国国情的会员店模式或高品质零售路径。Companies like Freshippo, Yonghui Superstores, and Pangdonglai — known for its exceptional service — are all actively exploring membership store models or high-quality retail paths suited to China's conditions.
特别是近年来兴起的“港人北上”消费热潮,更是为深圳等地的仓储超市带来了意外的增量。The "Hong Kongers heading north" consumption trend that has emerged in recent years has also brought unexpected incremental traffic to warehouse stores in Shenzhen and other cities.
Costco深圳店就曾透露,大量香港居民利用周末跨境购物,成为了其销售额的重要贡献力量。Costco's Shenzhen store has revealed that large numbers of Hong Kong residents make cross-border shopping trips on weekends, becoming a significant contributor to its sales.
这一现象也从侧面印证了粤港澳大湾区融合背景下,优质零售资源的跨区域吸引力。This phenomenon also indirectly confirms the cross-regional attraction of quality retail resources against the backdrop of Greater Bay Area integration.
回顾山姆在中国近三十年的发展历程,从1996年在深圳开出第一家店后的漫长蛰伏,到2016年后的加速起跑,再到如今的全面爆发,这本身就是一部跨国企业本土化的进化史。Looking back on Sam's nearly thirty-year journey in China — from the long hibernation after opening its first store in Shenzhen in 1996, to the accelerated pace after 2016, to the current full-scale explosion — this is itself an evolutionary history of multinational enterprise localization.
它告诉我们,在中国这样一个瞬息万变且体量巨大的市场,没有一劳永逸的商业模式。It tells us that in a market as rapidly changing and massive as China, there is no permanent business model.
唯有那些能够俯下身子,真正去理解中国家庭“烟火气”背后的需求变化,并愿意为之改变产品形态与服务细节的企业,才能在激烈的淘汰赛中笑到最后。Only those enterprises willing to get down to ground level, truly understand the changing needs behind the "earthy charm" of Chinese families, and willing to transform their product forms and service details accordingly, can have the last laugh in this fierce elimination race.
未来的零售战场,不再是单纯的价格战,而是供应链效率、选品眼光以及对消费者生活方式洞察力的全方位比拼。The future retail battlefield will no longer be a simple price war, but an all-around competition of supply chain efficiency, product selection acumen, and insight into consumers' lifestyles.
对于山姆而言,如何在保持高速扩张的同时,守住食品安全的底线,并持续在本土竞争对手的围追堵截中保持创新,将是其下一阶段面临的最大考验。For Sam's Club, how to maintain food safety standards while sustaining high-speed expansion, and how to keep innovating amid the relentless pursuit of local competitors, will be the greatest test it faces in its next phase.