Wal-Mart is considering opening in Russia and surrounding countries as it initiates a new round of international expansion.

US grocery giant’s latest drive follows a review of systems to assess and integrate overseas businesses, following Wal-Mart’s high-profile failures in Germany and South Korea in the past few years. Wal-Mart expects the initiatives to generate sales of more than US$100 billion (£51.22 billion) this year.

Wal-Mart vice-chairman Mike Duke headed the overhaul. Duke, who took up responsibilities as head of international operations in 2005, told the Financial Times: “As I came in and maybe with a new perspective, I was aggressive in addressing certain opportunities that needed to be addressed.”

Wal-Mart operates in 13 countries outside the US, which contributed 26 per cent of net sales last year.

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