Walmart in a Dogfight in China

You may have heard Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently announced it was putting its plans to open retail stores in India on hold.

Citing strict regulations on local sourcing, Walmart Asia CEO Scott Price said India’s regulations were a “critical stumbling block” to doing retail business in the world’s second most populous country, according to an article in The New York Times.

While Walmart will continue to operate a wholesale joint venture in India, the demise of its retail aspirations had to hurt.

But enough about India. Take a look at China. Walmart has been there since 1996, and now has more than 390 units in more than 150 cities and 21 provinces. That sounds impressive.

But according to a source we recently spoke with, the Walmart presence in China is “a mess,” with stores in second- and third-choice locations, including two in remote Inner Mongolia.

Walmart, we’re told, still competes with local markets that sell freshly slaughtered meat from rickety stalls.

In case you didn’t know, British supermarket giant Tesco recently called it a day and agreed to become joint — and junior — partners with China Resources Enterprise, a Hong Kong company on a mission to become “the largest consumer goods company in China,” according to its website.

And then there’s Carrefour, the French retailer that’s had its fair share of problems in China.

As the western retailers appear to stumble, RT-Mart International Ltd., a Taiwanese chain of hypermakets, is making a big push in the world’s largest consumer market.

Walmart dominates the U.S., but in Asia, the retailer is in a real dogfight.