Jennifer Waters covers everything that impacts consumers for MarketWatch and writes the Consumer Confidential column.
South Korea. Jennifer Waters Wal-Mart had critical shortfalls in enabling value exchange with the Korean consumers as the Korean consumers had significantly different taste and preferences compared to … France's Carrefour, CRERF, +1.02% the world's second largest retailer behind Wal-Mart, sold its … In May 2006, Wal-Mart retreated from Korea by selling its 16 stores to a major local discount chain, Shinsegae Co., at U.S.$882 million, and exited from Germany in July 2006. Daily shopping is also the norm in India and China. With the announcement, Wal-Mart added its name to a list of multinationals, like Nokia, Nestlé and Google, that have failed to adjust to the tastes of South Korean consumers. Wal-Mart's arrival in South Korea in 1998 shocked domestic retailers, but its performance was lackluster. Wal-Mart entered South Korea in late 1990s for its international expansion; however, IT had a major failure in this market and left Korea in 2005 as the American way of marketing did not translate well in Korea. Daily shopping is also the norm in …
For example, management has intensified its drive to focus on Made in USA products. Walmart later closed its Moscow office after saying Then there’s Germany and South Korea. E-Mart is the biggest discount store chain in South Korea, with 79 outlets. Robots in South Korea have been used to measure temperatures and distribute hand sanitiser. Wal-Mart and Carrefour said that leaving South Korea would allow them to focus on the retail industry in China. "As we continue to focus our efforts where we can have the greatest impact on our growth strategy, it became increasingly clear that in South Korea's current environment it would be difficult for us to reach the scale we desired," Mike Duke, Wal-Mart's vice chairman and head of international operations, said in a statement. In 2006 Walmart exited Germany and South Korea because the management team did not understand the habits of the typical customer who shopped daily.
China, where the currency has tumbled and is now at the lowest level since April 2013, is also of concern.Reports from India and China highlight Walmart’s long-standing dilemma: Management must learn to understand their local customers and local customs in every country they serve. Wal-Mart got into the South Korean market in 1998 by acquiring four Makro Stores. Since then, though our company has expanded across borders and overseas, the U.S. remains the heart of our business where we continue to test new ideas, learn from our customers and improve our ability to help people save money and live better. It posted a net loss of 9.9 billion won last year on revenue of 728.7 billion won. Emart is closer to a spa than a warehouse. Wal-Mart and Carrefour sold products by the box, while E-Mart and Lotte built eye-catching displays and hired clerks who hawked their goods with megaphones and hand-clapping. "We had an investment of roughly $1 billion in Korea," spokesman Wertz said.