An e-commerce investment in China

Walmart acquired a minority interest in Chinese e-commerce company Yihaodian, the company announced Friday morning. Yihaodian was launched in July 2008 and currently offers 75,000 products and next-day delivery on essential items from an existing logistics network in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

“We are excited about this investment. Online sales in China are growing rapidly and are projected to match U.S. online sales in the next few years,” said Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and CEO of Walmart global e-commerce and global sourcing. “By investing in Yihaodian, we’re continuing to establish a presence in this important ecommerce market, and are moving forward on fulfilling our aspiration of being the leading global multichannel retailer.”

Wan Ling Martello, EVP Walmart global e-commerce for emerging markets said Yihaodian has a strong management team with solid competence in distribution and outstanding service to their customers.

“We have been equally impressed by the fact that their values are consistent with ours. We very much look forward to working closely with them going forward,” Martello said.