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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Are some Walmarts in Shanghai better than others?
So I was extra excited to FINALLY make it to Walmart after almost 2 months of being here. I'd been to Carrefour a few times but nothing compares to good ole Walmart, or so I thought. I went to the Walmart in Pudong; it's closest and I figured Pudong is a posh little area so it should be nice. It wasn't, er, quite what I expected. I suppose there was a good selection of fresh produce and meats, but you can find both at any Carrefour or Chinese supermarket for that matter. I was more so expecting to find more recognizable brands from back home but the imported section was very limited. I was so disappointed I decided it was better to stick with the Carrefour at Zhongshan park, at least it's inside the metro station. But I wanna know .... is it worth it giving any of the other Walmarts a try? Are some better than others?
Walmarts are basically all the same. If you were looking for a good imported section. Try one of the Metro Supermarkets
1425 Zhenbei Lu, Putuo District
80 Gudai Lu, Minhang District
418 Guangyue Lu, Hongkou
383 Baiyang Lu, Huamu Town
Or look at some of the older questions on this site for other places
I've only been to two but they are exactly the same and to be honest there is not much difference between any of the localized stores such as Texco, Walmart, RT Mart, Trustmart -even Carrefour now. The only one that is different is Metro - but that is actually more expensive than the smaller stores but I go there for the difference and the huge pieces of meat you can get......
Don't know about Shanghai but in Dongguan it's true.
The walmarts do vary in quality and products. Quality is the biggest difference, it seems that in some of the older walmarts (despite what area) the quality drops a little.
I don't know if you've heard of Spar, but that's something we have here and I know from the UK, that's a crazy place! A huge Spar near my old apartment was horrible with old food and bad quality products, now I live near a smaller one and it's the opposite, this one even has an imported selection.
The point I make is that here in China despite there being a brand name there the stores can and usually will be different! Check them all out and find one that has the stuff you need!
The strange thing is, however, that Walmart believes itself in China to be a top-of-the-line place instead of what it really is. In my city, Walmart are not even truly competitive with the other major sellers. Sure every now and then Walmart will run a knock-em-out-of-the-market sale but that's only now and then. I prefer RT-Mart but then I prefer the open air markets (except for meat and poultry). I can still get a good bargain in some of the local shops if I don't mind haggling.