Mexico and Canada drove overall sales growth for the International segment in fiscal 2016. In China, despite ongoing economic challenges, we continued to gain share in the Hypermarket channel and are building a platform for sustainable growth. Our business in Brazil has been impacted by an increasingly challenging economic environment, while competitive intensity continued to increase in the U.K. All other markets had solid performance.
We’re focused on delivering value to customers across income levels in each of our markets. We’ve grown comp sales in a majority of our markets for seven consecutive quarters, fueled by investments in price, private brands and our fresh offering. We continued to open stores across our markets and expanded our reach in Online Grocery to China and Canada, leveraging our experience from the U.K.
We continue to review our portfolio, a key strategic priority aimed at sharpening our focus on our core food retail business, in both stores and online, and driving increased profitability. As a result, we sold properties in Canada, exited bank operations in Mexico, and closed underperforming stores in Latin America, while enhancing our portfolio by taking full ownership of Yihaodian in China. These actions position us for improved profitable growth.
We’re reducing our cost of goods sold and overhead expenses to fuel growth in our core business. We started a cost analytics program in Canada and the U.K. to provide merchants with tools and cost visibility to lead fact-based negotiations with suppliers. We’re continuing to see benefits from productivity initiatives in China as we build a platform for
sustainable growth.
