Summary - Wal-Mart's Painful Lessons

The article Wal-Mart's Painful Lessons details the different struggles that Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) have had in achieving success around the globe. While Americans have embraced the low-cost goods and services it provides, other countries in the world have not. One reason Wal-Mart has not succeeded in Japan is that the Japanese equate low-cost products to being inferior products. Wal-Mart has struggled to make a dent in India's $350 billion retail sector due to their government restrictions and because India's predominant retail sector consists of small, family-run businesses. In Russia, Walmart has faced obstacles establishing due to the rampant corruption. Finally, in Chile consumers are resistant to foreign retailers. Wal-Mart is in the early stages of global expansion and it may take awhile to succeed.