Wal-Mart finds its formula doesn’t fit every culture
Wal-Mart is probably the most successful US-based general goods retailer in the world Yet after nearly a decade of trying it pulled out of Germany It realized that its formula for success – low prices and a wide choice of goods - did not work in markets with their own discount chains and shoppers with different habits
It is a good important lesson says Beth Keck a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Among other things Wal-Mart has learned to deal with different corporate cultures with more sensitivity
In Germany it stopped requiring sales clerks to smile at customers because some male shoppers interpreted this as flirting It also stopped requiring staff members to sing the Wal-Mart chant every morning
People found these things strange Germans just don’t behave that way says Hans-Martin Porschmann the secretary of the Verdi union which represents 5,000 Wal-Mart employees In addition Wal-Mart didn’t want to have anything to do with unions he says They didn’t understand that in Germany companies and unions are closely connected
Wal-Mart’s German experience also taught it to use local management The company initially installed American executives who had little feel for what German consumers wanted They tried to sell packaged meat when Germans like to buy meat from the butcher says Mr Porschmann A customer Roland Kogel 54 says he never bought groceries at Wal-Mart because food is cheaper at German discount chains He also did not visit the store often because it was on the edge of town and he does not own a car
Finally Wal-Mart also learned to care less whether its foreign stores carry the name derived from its founder Sam Walton as the German Wal-Mart’s did Seventy per cent of Wal-Mart’s international sales come from outlets with names like Asda in Britain Seiyu in Japan or Bompreco in Brazil