Sam's Club will soon open its sixth store in Beijing, this time in its Fangshan District, with three more to come as they’re either under construction or have already been approved for development, bringing the grand total to nine and making Beijing the city with the most Sam's Club stores across China.

The US warehouse retailer's intensive rollout serves as a vivid epitome of foreign retail enterprises' growing confidence and presence in the Beijing market.

Covering 4.66 hectares with a total floor area of about 38,200 square meters and more than 960 parking spaces, the Fangshan store will significantly drive the consumer vitality and overall upgrading in the area and surrounding regions. It will fill the gap in high-end warehouse retail in Fangshan.

Sam's Club is also expanding its footprint across multiple districts. Its first store in Tongzhou District will be located in Songzhuang, with a total investment of about 560 million yuan and an expected opening in 2027. Its first Haidian outlet in the Yongfeng TOD complex is also scheduled to open in 2027. Its first store in Chaoyang District has obtained project planning approval. Upon full completion of the nine stores, Sam's Club will achieve full geographic coverage across Beijing.

More international retail brands are also ramping up investment in the Beijing market. Walmart is restarting plans for new stores in the city, with multiple locations under site selection and renovation. Japan's Ito-Yokado is returning to Beijing after years of absence, to launch a premium supermarket in Wangjing. UK supermarket chain Iceland will open its Asia Pacific debut store in Mentougou, bringing its popular frozen food products to local consumers. Costco, meanwhile, has entered the Beijing consumer market online through JD.com.

In recent years, surging demand for high-quality supermarkets in emerging residential areas in Beijing has created a notable supply gap in high-end commercial services, presenting clear market opportunities for international retail giants. The improved business environment has further accelerated the pace of store openings.

To support Beijing's development as an international consumption center city, its various districts have launched green channels to facilitate the landing of high-quality international commercial projects. The Changping Sam's Club store, which opened in 2025, was a key district project delivered at record speed by a dedicated project task force, while the upcoming Fangshan store took only 10 months from project initiation to the completion of its main structure. The Sam's Club project under construction in Tongzhou has also been included in Beijing's key projects for 2026, with supporting roads being built simultaneously.

As consumer demand continues to upgrade, international retailers are bringing more than products to Beijing. Their new stores are evolving from sales venues into experience centers while exploring deeper online-offline integration. The expansion of international retail brands is expected to offer residents more diverse choices, inject fresh vitality into Beijing's consumer market and encourage the overall upgrading of the local retail sector.