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But in Germany, Wal-Mart ended up with egg on its face. Even Mr Scott has admitted that the company's arrival was “somewhat embarrassing”, although the situation is improving. Wal-Mart entered Germany, the third-biggest retail market after America and Japan, in 1997-98 by buying two local retail chains, Wertkauf and Interspar, for $1.6 billion. Whereas Wertkauf was well-known and profitable, Interspar was weak and operated mostly run-down stores. Wal-Mart has lost money in Germany ever since. Problems have included price controls, which prevent below-cost selling, rigid labour laws and tough zoning regulations, which make it extremely difficult to build big stores.
Wal-Mart also faced well-established rivals in Germany, like Metro, and hard discounters such as Aldi and Lidl, already comfortable with razor-thin profit margins. Many retailers in Germany are owned by wealthy families whose business priorities are not always the maximisation of shareholder value.
But there was more to it than that. Wal-Mart's entry was “nothing short of a fiasco”, according to the authors of a study at the University of Bremen. At first, Wal-Mart's expatriate managers suffered from a massive clash of cultures, which was not helped by their refusal to learn to speak German. The company has come to be seen as an unattractive one to work for, adds the study. In part this is because of relatively low pay and an ultra-frugal policy on managers' business expenses.

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