Carlos Adese and Marisol Rueda, superstars
Wall Street Journal, page 1, today...
In Mexico, Wal-Mart Is Defying Its Critics
Low Prices Boost Its Sales and Popularity In Developing Markets
By JOHN LYONS
March 5, 2007; Page A1
JUCHITÁN, Mexico -- For as long as anyone can remember, shopping for many items in this Zapotec Indian town meant lousy selection and high prices. Most families live on less than $4,000 a year. Little wonder that this provincial corner of Oaxaca, historically famous for keeping outsiders at bay, welcomed the arrival of Wal-Mart.
Back home in the U.S., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is known not only for its relentless focus on low prices but also for its many critics, who assail it for everything from the wages it pays to its role in homogenizing American culture. But while its growth in the U.S. is slowing, Wal-Mart is striking gold south of the border, largely free from all the criticism. Like Wal-Mart fans in less affluent parts of America, most shoppers in developing countries are much more concerned about the cost of medicine and microwaves than the cultural incursions of a multinational corporation.
Latin Trade Brazil Editor Carlos Adese and Mexico Correspondent Marisol Rueda in Latin Trade, July 2006...
Hello World
U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart leans heavily on Latin America for growth abroad.
Brazilian homemaker Divina Guerra dos Santos is a key target for global retail giant Wal-Mart in its bid to drive growth outside of the United States. As she wanders the aisles of a Wal-Mart Todo Dia in Taboão da Serra near São Paulo her view of the Arkansas behemoth sums up the retailer’s strategy for success in Brazil: “It’s nice, clean, with attentive clerks and the best possible prices.”
The Wal-Mart growth strategy outside the United States is a bet to avoid a crunch that is clearly coming: The U.S market is huge, but it just won’t grow at the same rate in the coming decades. So Wal-Mart is headed around the planet in search of new opportunities. Nearly 41% of its 6,534 stores and more than a half-million employees (of 1.8 million total workers) are now abroad in 15 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. International sales in fiscal 2006 were US$62.72 billion—20.1% of the company’s total and up 11.4% from the previous year. The retailer also is in Germany, Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Japan and it is just beginning its assault on China.
In Mexico, Wal-Mart Is Defying Its Critics
Low Prices Boost Its Sales and Popularity In Developing Markets
By JOHN LYONS
March 5, 2007; Page A1
JUCHITÁN, Mexico -- For as long as anyone can remember, shopping for many items in this Zapotec Indian town meant lousy selection and high prices. Most families live on less than $4,000 a year. Little wonder that this provincial corner of Oaxaca, historically famous for keeping outsiders at bay, welcomed the arrival of Wal-Mart.
Back home in the U.S., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is known not only for its relentless focus on low prices but also for its many critics, who assail it for everything from the wages it pays to its role in homogenizing American culture. But while its growth in the U.S. is slowing, Wal-Mart is striking gold south of the border, largely free from all the criticism. Like Wal-Mart fans in less affluent parts of America, most shoppers in developing countries are much more concerned about the cost of medicine and microwaves than the cultural incursions of a multinational corporation.
Latin Trade Brazil Editor Carlos Adese and Mexico Correspondent Marisol Rueda in Latin Trade, July 2006...
Hello World
U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart leans heavily on Latin America for growth abroad.
Brazilian homemaker Divina Guerra dos Santos is a key target for global retail giant Wal-Mart in its bid to drive growth outside of the United States. As she wanders the aisles of a Wal-Mart Todo Dia in Taboão da Serra near São Paulo her view of the Arkansas behemoth sums up the retailer’s strategy for success in Brazil: “It’s nice, clean, with attentive clerks and the best possible prices.”
The Wal-Mart growth strategy outside the United States is a bet to avoid a crunch that is clearly coming: The U.S market is huge, but it just won’t grow at the same rate in the coming decades. So Wal-Mart is headed around the planet in search of new opportunities. Nearly 41% of its 6,534 stores and more than a half-million employees (of 1.8 million total workers) are now abroad in 15 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. International sales in fiscal 2006 were US$62.72 billion—20.1% of the company’s total and up 11.4% from the previous year. The retailer also is in Germany, Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Japan and it is just beginning its assault on China.
posted by Greg Brown at 11:22 AM
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