Wal-Mart, JD.com begin 'marriage'

The cooperation between Wal-Mart Stores Inc and JD.com Inc will not affect the American multinational retailer's plan for bricks-and-mortar stores in China, but the flagship internet store of Sam's Club China will be opened on JD in a few months.

In the past three weeks after the alliance between Wal-Mart and JD was reached in June, leaders of the two companies have been meeting on a weekly basis to begin execution of their in-depth strategic cooperation, said Shen Haoyu, CEO of JD Mall, which is the subsidiary that runs JD's online sales platform.

The flagship store of Sam's Club China is a priority for JD. "We are working closely according to our timeline. Taking the JD-based Sam's Club China flagship store for example, it will be launched within a couple of months," said Shen.