Wal-Mart Opens First Store in Weifang

Dec 29, 2005

(December 29, 2005, Weifang, Shandong) Today, Wal-Mart celebrated the grand opening of its first store in Weifang, Shandong Province – the Wal-Mart Supercenter Dongfeng East Street Store. Mr. Zhang Chuanlin, Secretary of Weifang municipal Party Committee and officials from other government organizations joined Mr. Joe Hatfield, Senior Vice President of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and President & CEO of Wal-Mart Asia and Mr. Stanley Yu, COO of Wal-Mart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. at the opening ceremony.

Following the Company’s tradition of Good Works, Wal-Mart donated RMB 200,000 to Weifang Social Donation Reception Center to establish the drinking water project for Seniors’ Home and five villages in the Weifang High-Tech Industry Development Zone. Wal-Mart hopes that its effort can help protect environment and improve people’s living standard.

At the opening ceremony, officials from various government organizations expressed their welcome and appreciation for the first Wal-Mart store in Weifang city. They expect that Wal-Mart will bring along advanced retail expertise and will promote the development of logistics and manufacture industry. Mr. Stanley Yu, Vice President & COO of Wal-Mart China said that Wal-Mart has been successfully operating 54 outlets in 26 cities since it entered China almost ten years ago. Wal-Mart has become a favorite destination for more and more shoppers thanks to its high quality merchandise at low prices under the philosophy of “Every Day Low Price”. Weifang store is the 55th store Wal-Mart opened in China and the first one in the secondary city in Shandong Province. Wal-Mart is confident that it will be well received by Weifang residents and will contribute to Weifang’s economy.

Located on the second and third levels of SITIC business building in Weifang High-Tech Industry Development Zone, a prosperous business area next to the municipal government and the People’s Square, the new Wal-Mart Supercenter has a floor area of 18,000 square meters. It carries over 18,000 merchandises, including fresh food, apparel, electrical appliances, cosmetics, etc. It also has three special service areas featuring optical service, jewelry and one-hour photo service.

Supercenter is the major business format of Wal-Mart China, providing customers with high quality merchandise at low prices under the philosophy of “Every Day Low Price”. Wal-Mart associates are committed to providing the customers with great shopping experience. The new Wal-Mart store will be able to provide customers with a “One Stop Shopping” experience, saving them time and money. As a return to customers’ support, Wal-Mart Weifang store offered great value merchandise and provided a series of retailtainment events during the grand opening.

Wal-Mart China opened its first Supercenter and SAM’S CLUB in August 1996 in Shenzhen. Till now, Wal-Mart China has opened 54 stores in 26 cities, including Shenzhen, Kunming, Fuzhou, Dalian, Xiamen, Shantou, Dongguan, Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Changsha, Beijing, Nanchang, Jinan, Qingdao, Tianjin, Nanjing, Nanning, Guiyang, Wuhan, Taiyuan, Chongqing, Shanghai, Jinjiang, Yuxi and Wuhu, Wal-Mart Supercenter Weifang Dongfeng East Street Store is the 55th unit opened in China.

Wal-Mart adheres to the corporate culture of “Respect for the Individual, Service to Our Customers and Strive for Excellence”. The company strives to provide customers with high quality products at low prices and great service. Wal-Mart’s direct and indirect procurement from China exceeded USD 18 billion in 2004, which made tremendous contribution to China’s economy and foreign trade development. Wal-Mart also actively contributes to various charitable programs. Since 1997, Wal-Mart’s donations to charitable organizations have reached over RMB 20 million. By the end of November, 2005, Wal-Mart has employed more than 27,000 associates in China with a total investment of RMB1.7 billion and paid taxes of over RMB 1.5 billion.

Wal-Mart is one of the world’s largest retailers. In 2004, Wal-Mart achieved global sales of USD 285.2 billion. It topped the Fortune Global 500 for four consecutive years and was also named as one of the “Most Admired Companies” and the “Best Companies to Work for” in many countries. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million associates, operates over 6,000 stores and serves nearly 140 million customers on a weekly basis in 16 countries worldwide.