| Abstract: | Wal-Mart entered the German market at the end of 1997 but is still running at a loss in its 92 stores. This article tests the hypothesis that there are two main reasons for Wal-Mart’s problems in Germany. First of all, Wal-Mart is competing against very strong and well established deep discounters, especially Aldi. Secondly, there is the difference between the so-called Wal-Mart culture and German customer values. So far, Wal-Mart has not managed to close this gap or create a positive image in Germany. The first part of the article describes the differences between the two retail companies Wal-Mart and Aldi, whereas the second part focuses on the consumer perspective. Four hundred people were interviewed on the phone about their shopping behaviour in the city of Würzburg (northern Bavaria, 140,000 inhabitants). This survey is part of an international study also undertaken in Canada, Great Britain and China. |
