Yet there are two big reasons why Walmart did not emulate Carrefour China's fate. The first and most important reason is Sam's Club, the wholesale chain that is now at the core of Walmart's operations in China. Walmart opened its first Sam's Club in China in Shenzhen in 1996, so it has been a feature of Walmart's presence in China right from the very beginning, and has been instrumental in the company's strategy of sourcing all products locally and developing robust supply chains. By 2016, there were a total of 15 Sam's Club outlets in China, but from this point onward, Sam's Club began expanding rapidly in China, adding 21 new outlets from 2017 to 2021, accounting for more than half of Walmart's new outlets in China over this period.