From The China Post:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s plan to double its presence in China will test whether failed adventures in Germany and South Korea have persuaded the world’s largest retailer to abandon corporate creationism in favor of Darwinism.
Wal-Mart is considering paying about US$1 billion for Trust-Mart, a closely held chain of grocery and appliance stores, a person familiar with the proposal told Bloomberg News this week. A report published this month by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Boston Consulting Group Inc. suggests Wal-Mart risks throwing good money after bad if its selling strategies fail to evolve to suit local preferences.
China ranks as the fifth-most-attractive opportunity out of the 30 countries on consulting firm AT Kearney Inc.’s 2006 Global Retail Development Index, down one place from 2005. India, Russia, Vietnam and Ukraine topped the list. [Full Text]
