Keytone Dairy’s contract with Walmart China is open-ended in that it does not provide for a set or maximum quantity or dollar amount – rather, the contract sets out the terms on which Keytone Dairy manufactures Sam’s Club China-branded product as and when Walmart China places orders with the company. The first order is for Sam’s Club China private label whole milk powder and skim milk powder, totalling approximately $NZ107,000 (US$68,750).
Sam's Club is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., with 597 membership warehouse clubs in the US and 208 clubs internationally (including Mexico, Brazil and China). For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2018, Sam’s Club generated US$59bn in revenue globally.
Sam’s Club has more than 50m members globally, and Sam’s Club China operates 18 superstores in China, in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Dalian, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuhan, Changzhou, Zhuhai, Tianjin, Xiamen, Nanjing and Changsha. Sam’s Club China offers multi-channel distribution platforms for customers, including physical stores, online and via Sam’s Club WeChat page.
Keytone said the Walmart contract is highly strategic given the size and number of stores Sam’s Club operates in China. Additionally, this contract followed many months of compliance audits and other onboarding procedures by Walmart China in validating the quality of the Keytone Dairy manufacturing operations and ultimately selecting Keytone Dairy as its preferred contract manufacturer for these powdered dairy products.
Keytone Dairy is working closely with Walmart China on this strategic relationship and on increasing its volumes for this customer, following this initial order.