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Walmart’s Sam’s Club counters China claims it pulled Xinjiang goods from app

  • Executive tells analysts that the matter is a misunderstanding and app did not support searches based on place names
  • Around 500 shoppers in the region cancelled their membership, he says

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A Sam’s Club representative says Chinese consumers failed to find products from Xinjiang because the app did not support searches for products based on names of places. Photo: Shutterstock
Walmart Inc arm Sam’s Club has denied claims in China that it deliberately removed Xinjiang-sourced products from its app, describing the furore as “a misunderstanding”.

Chinese social media users and local news outlets criticised Sam’s Club, a members only warehouse club that offers products and services, last week for the removal of the products from its domestic online stores. China’s anti-graft agency accused the US retailer and Sam’s Club of “stupidity and short-sightedness” over the matter.

A Sam’s Club representative told local analysts in a call organised by a domestic securities firm last week that Chinese consumers failed to find products from Xinjiang because the app did not support searches for products based on names of places.

The call, a full recording of which was shared by a participant, introduced the representative as Sam’s Club regional e-commerce leader surnamed Zhang.

“This matter is a misunderstanding,” Zhang said on the call.

“We didn’t defend ourselves, because, there is no reason to be afraid of things we haven’t done,” Zhang added. A second participant corroborated Zhang’s comments made on the call, which also talked about Sam’s Club’s plans in China.

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