Wal-Mart Plans to Expand into Russian Market

Wal-Mart has announced that it is planning on opening stores in Russia based on the increase and growth in the country’s retail spending.

Wal-Mart’s has a thriving international division which is smaller, but is growing faster than the United States business. By moving into Russia, Wal-Mart will be making inroads into yet another large underdeveloped market, similar to Latin America and China, where the company has already set up shop. Wal-Mart also has plans underway to open stores with the help of a local company in India.

A Spokesperson for Wal-mart says that after watching the Russian retail market for several years, the company likes what it sees in terms of growth and has a great interest in the Russian market.

According to the Moscow Times, the Russian food retail market accounts for less that two percent of the country’s gross domestic product, but the annual growth of the market has been more than 25 percent since 2001.

The international business segment of the Wal-Mart company accounts for 22 percent of its total sales for the first three quarters of last year, which is growing faster than the United States business segment. Sales from the U.S. stores were at 8 percent compared to 30 percent for international sales compared to figures from a year ago.

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