Did Germany’s Wal-Mart Babes look this good?!
Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, is selling its underperforming German stores to the country’s leading retail chain Metro, marking a major retreat that will cost it about $1 billion.
The U.S. retail giant has struggled to capture market share ever since entering the cut-throat German retail arena eight years ago, frustrated by razor-thin margins and tight labor and trade laws in a country still marked by tepid consumer spending.
The exit from Germany marks the second time in two months that Wal-Mart has pulled out of one country to focus on more promising opportunities elsewhere — such as in China, South and Central America, or India.
“It has become increasingly clear that in Germany’s business environment it would be difficult for us to obtain the scale and results we desire,” said Wal-Mart’s vice chairman Michael Duke.
Could it be that Wal-Mart doesn’t like playing when the rules are enforced?
Could it possibly be that this is a defeat not only for Wal Mart but for Germany’s consumers? Further, this illustrates the point that Wal Mart is a competitor in the marketplace and not simply an invinceible entity that can muscle its way into any market.
I’ve never seen such excitement over the loss of competition in a market.
I don’t know, but I would assume a Germany Wally World would be designed for German, and regional German tastes. The stores may have been very different than American stores. I do know European shopping is very different than American where daily marketing is a thing of the past. We go to COSTCO and buy five years worth of a product with a 6 month sell by date. The refrigerators are so small they will not hold a weeks worth of groceries.
Drew, how could this be a defeat for Germany’s consumers?! Are you saying that Germany should stop enforcing its laws or that Wal-Mart needed government protection from the “cut-throat” competition?!
Actually, I never really thought that Wal-Mart was an “invincible entity.” Wal-Mart has quickly retreated from any location where unions were present. And now we know that enforced laws and real competition are just as deadly to the corporation.
#1 – Oh yes… It must be a major defeat for German consumers. Now where will they be able to buy laundry soap or discount DVDs? I am so sad for all those Germans in their dirty clothes, standing around aimlessly because they have nothing to watch.
I don’t boycott Wal-Mart. The average American’s sheepish willingness to accept injustice as just another part of the American lifestyle has made the boycott an ineffective tool, and as long as it’s ineffective, might as well get some laundry soap and discount DVDs.
But Wal-Mart is a juggernaut with very questionable ethics, and more than a few ethical transgressions have been exposed in broad daylight. Wal Mart, for whatever little good it does, is a deserving recipient of it’s scorn.
The German public simply decided that cheap goods were not worth destroying their social base for.
The only way to defeat Wal-Mart is not to shop there. If you have EVER stopped at a Wal-Mart, you lose the right to complain.
It’s amazing to me how we punish the successful in this country. So many jealous people suffering from tall poppy syndrome.
Didn’t the state of Norway just dump their Wal-mart shares owing to human rights violations in Wal-Mart’s employment practices?
My wife always says that she wonders why that is seems that Target, Kmart, Sears and others don’t go under the scrutiny like a fine tooth comb? I’m sure there not clean on there practices either.
I’m not sticking up for walmart and we don’t shop there but it does not seem correct to single out one company because it’s the largest.
#6
“It’s amazing to me how we punish the successful in this country. So many jealous people suffering from tall poppy syndrome.”
Where do you guys get this stuff from? There must be a set of talking points somewhere, because it’s clear you haven’t taken the time to think about this yourself.
Wal-mart success may have started out because of a good bussiness plan, but now it’s based on breaking laws and bad ethics. The “Lowest price is the law” shouldn’t be the be all and end all.
#9 – My opinion differs from yours, so of course I couldn’t have thought it out like you, right?
Your arrogance and condescension knows no bounds.
It’s not like you’re not known for a certain level of invective and attitude yourself, my friend. Let’s talk about the issue and not one another, please. You too, Ryan.
Why should we want to “defeat” Walmart? Anyone who is disturbed by large corporate marketing and vendor policies should not spend their money in big stores. Apparently the Germans had other destinations in mind when they wanted to unload a few spare marks, Walmart wasn’t receiving their customary high ROI and they bailed. The Germans don’t miss them, and Walmart has a helluva tax write off.
No one really expects malren to include facts in discussion.
Non-German competitors from Carrefour to Coop do very well — and even Woolworth still exists in Germany. WalMart went to Germany especially to compete with Carrefour and failed.
But, then, they stopped paying attention to the standards established by the dude who built the chain practically as soon as he died.
Those are very good looking girls, especially my favorite one.
I think it’s more like rules are a pain in the arse – Socalist govenrments are the bain for free-market capitalism.
#5 – Laughable. Do you really think that the public care about destroying their social base? Ha!
Wal-Mart: The best thing to ever happen to the lower-class in America.
#17….Wal-Mart pays what all the other retailers pay(Sears, Target, Costco, Kohls) and gives benefits.
If you read the whole article you will notice (for Smartalix and others) that they were undercut by the already established retailers in Germany. Plus, the Germans are noted for being cheap shoppers and would drive for miles to save another few pennies.
They noted that Wal-Mart had greeters at the door (as they do everywhere) and baggers, a concept that didn’t hit off well with the Germans. The analyst noted the Germans esprcially didn’t like the smiling happy person at the door.
Get ALL the facts before you post, as you so often tell me.
many of you are saying that walmart broke laws. Well back it up, what laws did they break.
Yeah, I’m clearly not stating a fact when I say that Wal-Mart would fail if people stopped shopping there.
*cough*
Simply another case of top management failure.
1) WalMart in Germany was neither cheaper nor better than the competition.
2) WalMart definitely lost the game when its management (US-based, presumably) tried to impose stupid harassment and intra-company regulations (which seems to be accepted only within the US). This went so far as to forbid members of their staff to meet on “love” reasons outside the company and not on duty. This attempted invasion of privacy rightly brought them an extremely bad press.
But you can learn from defeats, if you are able and willling to do so.
The Germany economy hasn’t been doing too well lately. All these rules have consequences. That said, I doubt WalMart would have gone in without knowing the rules, and they probably lost for other reasons. I’ve heard that Aldi is bigger there.
…and I’d add that very few people claim that Wal-Mart “breaks laws” although given the volumes of press I find it hard to fathom why some conservatives insist on continuing to ask what we have against Wal-Mart. Christ people, read some press once in a while.
My contention isn’t that they are law-breakers, but that they aren’t ethical.
But beating the dead horse with yet another recitation of examples isn’t going to further the conversation. If you can’t see what is wrong with the invasive power some corporations have over the lives of regular working citizens, our children, our communities, and our culture, then you will never see it because you just don’t care about anyone who isn’t you.
funny how it is “whatever the market will bear” with conservatives until you say you want a Cuban cigar ….
#2, My European refrigerator holds food for an entire month. 😉 So does my parents’ refrigerator… as well as my grandparents’ refrigerator, and most of my European friends’ refrigerators. 😀
26, I just hope you don’t keep perishables in your refrigerators that long.
Our country is based on “Corporate” Democracy which is the freedom to exploit for profit. If they want to selfishly refuse our corporate values then I say it’s time to start looking for their “hidden” WMD’s.
Our country is based on “Corporate” Democracy which is the freedom to exploit for profit. If they want to selfishly refuse our corporate values then I say it’s time to start looking for their “hidden” WMD’s.
WMDs, = Wal-Mart’s Democracy style.
I’ve been to Germany twice. Both those times I stayed with families who have been long time family friends. This past summer I shopped at a Wal-Mart in Germany. It was a nice enough store.
I think one critical difference between Germany and the US is the degree of consumer peer pressure that exists. Most Germans don’t feel the need to buy stuff they don’t need. How many American households have “holiday placemats”?
#24…..Mr. Fusion…..come on guy…..you often accuse me of getting my facts from legitimate news sources such as Fox News and then you list all those Wal-Mart links, only one of which is not from some liberal group or union group. Even the one is over 5 years old and the courts have said Wal-Mart has made the effort needed to show it was correcting the lunch and break problem in California.
I’m truely amazed.
Its because the German stores had unions inplace in the wal mart stores. They were the only store to have unions. All workers got 3 week of vacation per year, higher pay, and benefits.
I would bet money they are pulling out to avoid it being used in the Teamsters lawsuit against Wal-Mart. ‘It’ being the fact that they already have (had) union employees. It costs them a billion in the short term, but probably saved them ontold billions if unions got a foothold in US stores.