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Sam’s Club China has grown to 10.7 million paid members. The interesting lesson is not that every retailer should copy a warehouse club. It is how much of the business has been designed around one outcome: making the customer feel that renewing the membership is worth it.
Neverlater
September 17, 2026
App-only note
Sam’s Club has become one of the more interesting foreign retail businesses in China.
As of June 2026, it had 10.7 million paid members.
It plans to reach 76 locations in China by the end of 2026, while Walmart reported 67 operating Sam’s Clubs as of July 31.
But we would not study Sam’s Club because Indonesia needs more warehouse clubs.
We would study the principles underneath it.
Most retailers monetize when the customer buys.
Sam’s Club gets paid before the basket exists.
That sounds attractive.
Recurring membership revenue.
Upfront cash.
Loyalty.
But membership also creates a promise.
I am paying you for access because I believe shopping here over the next year will justify the fee.
That means the retailer has to continuously earn renewal.
Product.
Availability.
Value.
Discovery.
Service.
Convenience.
Membership is recurring revenue only if the experience creates recurring value.
The lesson is not to become obsessed with subscriptions.
It is to become obsessed with why people renew them.
Retailers often assume that more assortment means more value.
Sometimes it does.
But assortment also creates complexity.
more comparison.
more inventory, suppliers, forecasting and working capital.
Sam’s Club takes a more curated approach.
We have already done some of the choosing for you.
That turns assortment selection into a service.
How many SKUs can we carry?
How many genuinely deserve to exist?
Private label is often treated as the cheaper version.
That misses its strategic potential.
The stronger model is when consumers specifically want the retailer’s own products.
margin,
traffic,
differentiation,
loyalty.
A product that exists only inside your ecosystem gives customers another reason to stay inside that ecosystem.
That is much more valuable than simply replacing a national brand with a cheaper alternative.
This may be the most useful lesson for Southeast Asia.
Sam’s Club has attracted Chinese consumers around a combination of exclusive merchandise, perceived quality and competitive value.
Fitch described the proposition as consistent quality at reasonable prices, helping justify the membership fee.
What costs the least?
Did I receive more value than what I paid?
That creates space for premium value.
Better quality.
Better products.
Better unit economics.
Without needing to be the cheapest option.
Membership economics ultimately depend on repetition.
availability,
trust,
freshness,
private label,
service,
newness
more important than a one-time spike in traffic.
The physical warehouse is only the visible expression of that model.
The real operating system is designed around creating enough repeated value that the customer continues paying to participate.
There is also a useful caution here.
Sam’s Club China faced regulatory scrutiny around food safety in 2026, reinforcing how quickly membership trust can become vulnerable when operating standards slip.
membership magnifies trust in both directions.
Our takeaway from Sam’s Club is therefore not to copy the format.
It is to copy the questions.
What would make the customer willingly pay for access?
What products can only we provide?
How much assortment is truly necessary?
Why should someone come back next month?
What makes renewing the relationship obvious?
Those questions are relevant far beyond warehouse retail.
References
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