Du hast mich, Wal-Mart? Nein!

Wal-Mart is leaving Germany, in part because American managers simply didn't understand German society. The news came out at the end of July, but the New York Times/IHT and Bloomberg had some decent overviews of the situation last week.

Part of the problem is just basic cultural ignorance: employees were ordered to smile at customers, which made the some German shoppers feel uncomfortable. Some male shoppers, however, interpreted smiling female clerks as flirts - which probably made both parties feel uncomfortable eventually. Another issue was the morning chant, in which employees spell out the name of the store in unison. Why not whip the workers up into a nationalistic fervor, too?

Wal-Mart has had missteps in other countries. The IHT tells us that the mega-retailer tried to sell golf clubs in Brazil, where golf is unpopular, and ice skates in Mexico. Shelves were too high in South Korea, and bulk cases of goods made no sense for shoppers who largely travel via public transportation and have smaller living spaces than Americans ("Why would you buy a box of shampoo bottles?").

But it's not all the "lost in translation" effect. Retailers with a specific recognizable product, such as Lous Vuitton, KFC, and Starbucks, have all done well in new international markets. But since big-box retailers doesn't have anything unique to offer, they sometimes struggle overseas. Wal-Mart decided in May to sell its 16 South Korean stores, which was then the biggest retreat in the company's history - until the announcement to sell Germany's 85 Wal-Marts.

Wal-Mart seems to do better in less-developed countries, which don't already have cost-cutting major retailers. Brazil, Mexico, and China, for example, have been succcessful markets. The company has 60 stores in China, and plans to build 20 more soon. The success there should continue, as long as they don't adopt a marketing slogan such as "Wal-Mart: A Giant Leap Forward!" or start selling Japanese history textbooks.