Walmart giving up on Germany!

cheddar cheese said:

I couldnt really care less about shops and supermarkets, I dont really go to any. The internet is so much easier, if I want something I get it from eBay or Amazon or some other site. Of course when the time comes for me to get my own groceries ill go to town, but for now I dont

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The only thing I have purchased from the internet is a G-36C Airsoft gun for $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Of course when the time comes for me to get my own groceries ill go to town, but for now I dont

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but it would be so very ammusing to try and see the tesco van squeeze down your back passage... to the house

Van? Pfft, Im paying for it, Id have it air dropped by some Hueys.

Here's something funny.....

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is determined to introduce trade unions in all local Wal-Mart stores, despite the retail giant's opposition to unions among its workers, a Chinese labor official said in state media on Wednesday.

Employees of a Wal-Mart store in Quanzhou, in the southeastern province of Fujian, established a branch of the state-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions on Saturday - the first such union in the U.S. company's spreading China operations.

Wal-Mart has rebuffed the federation's efforts to expand into its stores, and since the Saturday announcement company executives have said they were unaware of the latest move.

But an official union organizer told the Beijing Daily that China would press forward with an effort to unionize all Wal-Mart stores.

"Establishing this trade union in Wal-Mart was just the beginning," said Guo Wencai, director of the grassroots organization department of the Federation of Trade Unions. "Our goal is to cover every store with a trade union organization."

Wal-Mart has resisted trade unions in most of its worldwide operations and has said it listens to the needs of its Chinese workers and does not need the official trade union to step in.

But Guo indicated this was not enough.

"Even if nobody proposes setting one up, this organization must still exist," he said, adding that the state union would hold a publicity campaign among Wal-Mart employees.

China has previously threatened foreign firms with blacklists and legal action if they did not set up unions in their local operations. Only about one quarter of the 150,000 or so foreign firms in China have unions, the Beijing Daily said.

The paper cited another Chinese trade union official as saying its goal is to raise this level to 50 percent.

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:

In a victory for small business in Europes largest economy Germany, Walmart is giving up and going home. Walmart has not made a profit yet since it moved into Germany in 1997. They have been loosing more and more every year. They announced yesterday that they are going to close down there 85 stores in Germany. Another company here in Germany said it will hire the employees so that they can keep there jobs.

Walmarts in Germany sell more than just clothes and goods, they also sell groceries and produce.

I think this is great because in my opinion I would rather walk out my door and go to a deli and get fresh cheese and meats or go to a Butcher and get fresh beef or pork or whatever. These small businesses are cheaper and the product is better than what you get at Walmart. If I need clothing I would rather go into town and buy it from stores than from Walmart.

I dont mind traveling to different stores to get what I need rather than go to Walmart and buy from one location. Apparently most Germans agree with me.

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Im jealous for you guys honestly, Wal-Mart is like Cocaine for us in Canada, its the complete opposite of what it went through in Germany, small buisinesses cant get a break its sickening, thats globalization for you

Supermarkets here are good but independent buisinesses always do well. Personally the cheapest places are best for me: a small chicken for £1.50 at Netto

102first_hussars said:

Im jealous for you guys honestly, Wal-Mart is like Cocaine for us in Canada, its the complete opposite of what it went through in Germany, small buisinesses cant get a break its sickening, thats globalization for you

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Large retail chains have always done well in Canada. We're a lot like Americans that way, in that we flock to affordable bulk items. We also like big rooms filled with row upon row of pretty colours and shiny objects.

Wal-Mart has been really giving Zellers a run for their money. So much so that around here there was fear of Zellers going out of business because of it. I think it's pretty much settled out now though. K-Mart folded up shop long ago, and Consumers Distributing too. Then there was the nationwide Eaton's closure, but I don't know how much of that was due to the Wal-Mart giant.

Well the sad fact is North America built big expansive cities the Downtowns are for the most part the worst shopping and if your going to buy stuff we migrate to where we can see everything at one place without a lot of travelling hence the Mall with Walmarts etc. Toronto with a population 0f 4 million is 1500 sq/km or 560 sq miles or only 40 sq miles less then London which has twice the number of people. Most North American Transit systems are junk so you are left to driving as walking sometimes isn't usually practical

I don't care for WalMart. When they come into an area, it seems many of the small businesses close down. I've seen a program called, "Is WalMart Good for America" and it showed a number of manufacturers that have closed down because they couldn't make products for the price WalMart was willing to pay and they are basically the only game in town. The manufacturing has moved to China because that's the only place able to make the stuff for the cheap price WalMart will pay for it. They showed a man in Pakistan who was paying his employees 17 cents per hour to make clothes for WalMart. He said he asked for a small increase in what he was getting for his clothes so he could give his employees a small increase in pay. In exchange, WalMart cancelled the contract and went to China, where they paid people even less to make the clothing. That's really tragic.

I agree.

Allegedly wal mart stack products so high on their shelves that gravity has actually caused at least on fatality in a wal mart