Wal-Mart’s Germany Sale Good, But Not Good Enough
From Forbes:
Wal-Mart Stores’ announcement last week that it is selling its German businesses is a positive, but not enough for investors to become more optimistic on the stock, according to a recent Morgan Stanley report.
On Friday, Wal-Mart announced that it is selling its 85 German stores to rival Metro AG, Germany’s leading retail chain, after trying to penetrate that market for nine years. .
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Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Wednesday, February 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
Wal-Mart Hit Hard By German Losses
From Deutsche Welle:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. revealed Tuesday its first earnings drop in a decade owing to its withdrawal from Germany and sluggish US sales at a time of sky-high fuel prices.
The US-based chain said its second-quarter net profit slumped 26 percent to $2.08 billion (1.62 billion euros), after it booked a charge of $863 million for the sale of its German stores to Metro AG.
Excluding the $863 million loss on the sale of the German branch, Wal-Mart’s second quarter earnings per share met Wall Street expectations.
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Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Wednesday, February 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
Germany Retailer Says It Will Reflag Wal-Mart Stores In Germany
From International Herald Tribune:
German retailer Metro AG’s Real division said Friday it would reflag 80 percent of Wal-Mart’s former stores in Germany under its own name and close 15 of them by mid-2007.
Metro bought Wal-Mart’s German stores earlier this year, and has already renamed six of them as Real markets. Real said in a statement that it would also close the former Wal-Mart headquarters in Wuppertal by the third quarter of 2007.
“The Real marketing network will be strengthened for the long-term through taking over of most of the Wal-Mart branches,” the statement read.
“These locations are an outstanding geographical and strategic fit for Real and will provide a clear improvement of the company’s position on the German market.”
Posted by Vasudha Desikan on Wednesday, February 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
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