沃尔玛未来三年拟在华开设100家新店

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer by sales, plans to open 100 stores in the next three years in China, marking a slowdown from its earlier growth rates in the increasing competitive retail landscape there.

全球销售额最大的零售商沃尔玛连锁公司(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)计划未来三年在中国开设100家门店。这标志着沃尔玛在中国这一零售业竞争日益激烈的市场增长速度较之前有所放缓。

A spokesman said Friday Wal-Mart will also add 18,000 jobs to its current roster of 100,000 in China.

沃尔玛发言人周五说，该公司将在中国新增1.8万个就业岗位。沃尔玛目前有10万在华员工。

The openings aim to help Wal-Mart take larger market share in China, where it is currently No. 2 behind rival Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. (6808.HK), a joint venture between Taiwanese conglomerate Ruentex Group and France's Groupe Auchan SA.

开设新店旨在帮助沃尔玛在中国抢占更大的市场份额。沃尔玛目前在中国占有的市场份额不及竞争对手高鑫零售有限公司(Sun Art Retail Group Ltd., 简称：高鑫零售)，排名第二。高鑫零售是台湾综合企业润泰集团(Ruentex Group)和法国欧尚集团(Groupe Auchan SA.)创办的合资企业。

But the announced 100 stores also marks a deceleration in the pace of its investment in China, where economic growth has fallen to its lowest rate in three years. Wal-Mart, which currently has 378 stores in China, had been opening 50 to 60 stores per year in the country.

不过，上述开设100家新店的计划也标志着沃尔玛在华投资速度放缓。中国的经济增速已经降至三年来的最低水平。沃尔玛目前在中国拥有378家门店，过去每年都会在中国开设50到60家新店。

Executives said in August that the retailer would open fewer stores in China next year, halving the square footage that the company originally forecast. 'To improve our site selection and store design, optimize customer shopping experiences, we made a decision earlier to moderate our growth,' said Scott Price, Wal-Mart's head of Asia, in an emailed statement to The Wall Street Journal.

沃尔玛高管今年8月曾说，该公司将减少明年在中国开设的新店数量，新增营业面积将只有原先预测的一半。沃尔玛亚洲总裁贝思哲(Scott Price)在通过电子邮件发给《华尔街日报》的一份声明中表示，为了提高我们的选址和店面设计能力，优化顾客的购物体验，我们决定放缓新店开设的速度。

In an interview in September, Mr. Price said Wal-Mart isn't threatened by China's economic slowdown and that the company will still benefit greatly from the country's ballooning middle class.

在今年9月接受记者采访时贝思哲说，沃尔玛不会受到中国经济增速放缓的威胁，该公司仍将极大受益于中国不断膨胀的中产阶级。

The Bentonville, Ark., company is also launching a new environmental initiative, requiring its global suppliers to improve energy efficiency and waste reduction based on its own corporate environmental regulations. The move, aimed to boost the image of a company under scrutiny by labor and environmental organizations, was announced Thursday in China, where Wal-Mart works with more than 20,000 suppliers.

总部位于美国阿肯色州本顿维尔(Bentonville, Ark.)的沃尔玛还推出了一项新的环保举措，要求其全球供应商按照沃尔玛的企业环保规定提高能源效率，减少废弃物。这一举措旨在改善备受劳工和环保组织关注的沃尔玛的形象。沃尔玛周四在中国宣布了这项举措。在中国同沃尔玛合作的供应商超过2万家。

Executives say Wal-Mart will monitor suppliers, using the retail giant's own sustainability standards and will terminate contracts with those that don't comply.

该公司高管表示，沃尔玛将用自身的可持续发展标准监督供应商。沃尔玛将解除同那些不合标准的供应商签订的合同。