Ha! Wal-Mart retreats from Germany

[Ecthy]

http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,428962,00.html

According to this article, Wal-Mart sells all of their 85 markets in Germany to Metro, totally giving up plans to get a foothold on the German market.

Der US-Konzern gab bekannt, dass er aus dem Verkauf der Deutschland-Aktivitäten einen Verlust vor Steuern von etwa einer Milliarde Dollar erwarte.

"The US company announced a loss of one billion US dollars before taxes due to this deal." (selling their markets to Metro)

This is good for our society. We all know what Wal-Mart did to so many areas in the US. Sane market structures

[Qwertqwert]

So what happened?

[Asher]

Germans react violently when you try to bag their purchases for them.

[Harovan]

So where can I buy my Budweiser now?

Don't tell me I have to resort to that Czech duplicate now.

[Ecthy]

Qwert, they sell all their markets to Metro.

Asher, they never offered that much service to us. They couldn't pay cheap jobs like that in an over-controlled economy like this On the other hand, I still prefer this model to the US one, where Wal-Mart impoverishes entire counties due to its aggressive price policy.

[alva]

This is good for our society. We all know what Wal-Mart did to so many areas in the US. Sane market structures

Don't tell me I have to resort to that Czech duplicate now.

I feel your pain man...any idea how difficult it is, to find some Heiniken here!!

[Lancer]

Fresh beer is better than brand name. Find the local stuff, I recall there being brewerys all over Germany.

The Wal-Marts and malls have destroyed America's downtown areas. They have become broken down shop fronts in areas overrun by drug addicts and pushers.

My little town is different, the tourists keep the old town area going strong. People in my shuttle remark on it, like it's nostalgic. A healthy local economy brings back fond memories but nothing is being done to bring back a healthy local economy. This is another reason why I like the Chicago legislation forcing massive stores to pay $10/hr. Maybe the small mom and pop stores can compete better with lower labor costs.

Anyway, good for Germany.

[Harovan]

I think I better tag my irony next time, that Lancer doesn't fall for it so easily. I have 2 breweries within a 100 yard radius around the house, why would I lug my beer any farther? And who else would take only 9 Euro for 20 x 0.5 Liter of excellent lager.

Joke aside, I wore a baseball cap with "Budweiser" and (American-) "Football" on it for years through Bavaria. I kept it so long, because it was a remembrance for a friend in Florida, who had gifted it once and who died meanwhile. And I didn't give a damn about the disdainful looks I got for the sacrilege to advertise un-bavarian beer and un-european sports.

[RGBVideo]

This is good for our society.

Trying to sell food and consumer goods as cheaply as possible

[Ecthy]

I do Aldi anyway, being a poor student. But then Aldi doesn't have a reputation of spoiling the social structure of entire regions.

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by VJ
Trying to sell food and consumer goods as cheaply as possible

Not sure about you, but for some, price is the only responsibility of a seller in capitalism. These people fail to see the difference between personal responsibility in free decisions and total indifference to the consequences of your decisions. Liberal-democracy-capitalism isn't about being indifferent, it's about being free to make decisions - and to support the ramifications of your actions.

Social irresponsibility

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
So where can I buy my Budweiser now?

Don't tell me I have to resort to that Czech duplicate now.

Don't worry, SR, some of us still understand irony.

[Ecthy]

In fact most of us do. German beer

American microbrews are supposed to be excellent, is there a chance to get some of that stuff in yurop?

[RGBVideo]

Aldi doesn't have a reputation of spoiling the social structure of entire regions.

Yes. Providing food and consumer goods as cheaply as possible does that, doesn't it?

Or at least it creates such a "reputation", which is all what matters to wannabe-commies. OMG a corporation which is more efficient than existing local ones destroyes them thru legal competition, thus ensuring the best possible service with the cheapest possible fee. Somebody dial 911, we have a basic sign of a capitalist society in progress!

Move to Cuba if you don't like capitalism, commies.

[Ecthy]

The things you say give capitalism a bad name, since you try to excuse inacceptable consequences by painting a black and white picture of capitalism vs. communism.

You should think in terms of ends not means. Capitalism is supposed to be superior to communism because it serves society better, because it's more capable of creating wealth. If however a system doesn't succeed in creating wealth but poverty, it failed. May it be communism in Cuba or Wal-Martism in rural USA.