The world's largest retailer, US giant Wal-Mart, plans to launch online sales operations in China and Japan.
The company already has 282 outlets throughout China and 371 Seiyu stores in Japan, but no direct online sales service for either country, the Financial Times reported.
Wal-Mart is now putting systems in place to adapt its existing online business to the Chinese and Japanese markets, and has advertised for staff to help with this process.
Wal-Mart vice-chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said in January the company would try to expand in markets in which they already have a physical and online presence, as well as those in which they don't.
The retailer already has strong e-commerce ventures in the US and UK, with its Asda.com website.
Wal-Mart launched an e-commerce business in Brazil two years ago, and in Japan Seiyu also sells through the country's largest online retailer, Rakuten.
