Wal-Mart admits defeat in Germany and sells stores
Andrew Clark
Saturday July 29, 2006
The Guardian
The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has made a rare admission of failure by selling its hypermarket chain in Germany at a loss of $1bn (£530m) after failing to convert the country’s shoppers and regulators to its low-price, American-style trading.
Wal-Mart said yesterday that it was offloading its 85 German outlets to a local rival, Metro, in a move that calls time on its nine-year struggle to make an impact in the country.
