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Our wallets are getting sore these days. After billions already in taxpayer handouts, it turns out that Bank of America executives will need another”>another $34 billion dollars from us.

Do they deserve it? Are they grateful for the billions they’ve already received? Are they trying to use the money judiciously?  Not unless you count corporate jets and bloated executive salaries as responsible spending.

Bad corporate behavior by Bank of America is nothing new. They have a long history of doing things that put America at risk.

Given Bank of America’s behavior, Americans should be wary of letting a company like Wal-Mart anywhere near financial services.  And a couple years ago, Americans did just that when thousands wrote the FDIC to petition the agency to block a Wal-Mart bank application.  But since then, Wal-Mart has been trying to edge their way back into the money game through the back door.

Over the last few years, Wal-Mart has developed an interest in providing alternative financial services - including check cashing, general purpose prepaid cards, money order purchase and bill payment - to unbanked and underbanked consumers. Among regular check cashing store customers, 92% shop at Wal-Mart at least once per three-month period. Still, less than half of the surveyed population cash checks at Wal-Mart stores, with most preferring traditional check cashing centers due to a perceived convenience.  Wal-Mart sees this potential to expand their business.

‘Alternative’ financial services are a lucrative market these days; a study by First Data, a financial transaction technology company, found that 78 million Americans either use no financial services, or are underserved. Given that many of these customers are lower-income and many shop at Wal-Mart, it’s no wonder the retailer sees an opportunity.

Another report from Aite Group, an industry research and advisory firm, puts Wal-Mart’s current market share of ‘alternative’ financial services at 11%. Some analysts, including Seeking Alpha, claim that the retailer has distinct advantages in offering financial services: in-store convenience, and potentially lower costs than check-cashing or money wiring businesses.

In Mexico, Wal-Mart already offers credit cards—but at shameful rates. The retailer charges a whopping 69.6% annual interest rate for its card. And Wal-Mart has been fiercely lobbying the Mexican legislature to secure changes to banking laws that would allow it to offer all manner of financial services in-store.

But the U.S. and Mexico aren’t enough for Wal-Mart. Now it’s taking a shot at Chile “through the D&S grocer it recently acquired”, according to the Wall Street Journal. We’ve all seen how a lack of adequate regulation, combined with banks’ dabbles into unfamiliar areas (such as mortgage-backed securities) brought the world economy to the brink of collapse. A ‘Bank of Wal-Mart’ would only serve to perpetuate this sort of risk.

Right now is a time for better, more accountable banks. Not Wal-Mart banks.

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Will Wal-Mart succeed in its Latin American invasion?

The Latin Business Chronicle looks at Wal-Mart’s plan to build stores in nine Central and South American stores this year, and cites Wal-Mart’s “success” in Mexico and Brazil. (Although it isn’t without controversy. In Mexico, Wal-Mart’s sales have risen but the retailer has also faced some notable setbacks: it can’t yet set up the controversial in-store banking services it wants to and its credit card interest rates are exorbitant. )

The Chronicle interviews different economists on the issue, and mainstream consensus is that 1) Wal-Mart will benefit from the recession and 2) success still depends on Wal-Mart’s ability to adapt to the cultural differences of each country. This is no small challenge, and Wal-Mart has failed in the past at this in countries like Germany and South Korea. For example, Chile has more wealth and a more differentiated grocery market than Honduras. Service has never been Wal-Mart’s strength and many Latin American consumers clearly value the personal attention their traditional retailers are good at providing. Additionally, Wal-Mart’s standard distribution networks, fairly efficient in the U.S., may prove unmanageable in a region as vast, mountainous and (in many places) still poorly developed as Latin America.

And most importantly, Wal-Mart’s success will depend on the willingness of Latin American governments and peoples to accept the Wal-Mart business model. Will the people of Latin America accept a foreign company moving in in a time of recession to knock local retailers out of business?

The full article article is republished below:

Last May, Michael Bergdahl, former director of human resources at Wal-Mart, told the First Global Forum on Customer Service in Santiago, Chile, “Our strategy of low prices has become a competitive advantage for us. So long as our competition focuses on how much they can get for their products, we focus on how little we can get for ours.” According to Bergdahl, this strategy generated revenues of about $13 billion in 2007, and in 2008, “we open a new store each day, and each week, 176 million customers buy from our stores.”

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From IPS (Inter Press Service): When a woman was interviewed for a job at a local Wal-Mart in the Mexican capital, the first thing she was asked was whether she was pregnant – a question she did not know at the time was illegal.

The woman, who goes by the fictional name of Paulina, is just one of many cases IPS cites in describing the growing problem in Mexico of discriminatory behavior towards women.

“I had to present a certificate of my state of health to get the job,” Paulina tells IPS in the parking lot of one of the U.S. retail giant’s stores in Mexico City. Paulina’s case is an illustration of the persistence of discriminatory practices that violate the labour rights of women in Mexico, even though they represent 42 percent of the workforce in Latin America’s second-biggest economy.

In the U.S. under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, pregnant women cannot be treated differently than other workers experiencing a temporary disability. In effect, they are treated as being temporarily disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and are therefore subject to certain protections. And despite that fact, Wal-Mart has still been the subject of numerous disability-related lawsuits, many of which we have documented here. Several years ago, Wal-Mart was forced to settle with the EEOC after the company failed to hire a woman based on her pregnancy. In Mexico, however, there aren’t nearly the protections that exist here to the north - and a recent report by the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Project has focused on Wal-Mart in particular:

The report, “Lo barato sale caro: violaciones a los derechos humanos laborales en Wal-Mart México” (roughly, “cheap is costly: violations of labour and human rights in Wal-Mart Mexico"), concluded that the corporation violates rights in terms of wages, health, security, hours, overtime pay and labour benefits. It also blocks the creation of trade unions under the argument that its employees are considered “associates...” One of the authors of the report, PRODESC researcher Shaila Toledo, pointed out that women workers suffer discrimination and exploitation, such as being required to take a pregnancy test before they are hired, and being bypassed for promotion.

With Dukes v. Wal-Mart slowly moving forward here in the U.S., this doesn’t speak well for Wal-Mart’s claim to be changing its ways in North America.

LABOUR-MEXICO: “They First Asked if I Was Pregnant” [IPS]

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The battle for the heart and soul of Mexico’s banking industry is reaching a fever pitch, with the Mexican government’s two chambers—the House of Representatives, and the Senate—fiercely divided over proposed changes to the country’s banking laws that would allow so-called “corresponsal banking”. The concept would literally mean that any of Mexico’s countless small corner stores or shops could offer limited banking services, such as check depositing, through partnership with larger banking entities.

In theory, any bank with sufficient size to set up “corresponsal” relationships with shops could participate, from microcredit institutions that targets loans to Mexico’s poor, to multinational giants. But one key provision in the bill will actually affect whether giants such as Wal-Mart can effectively do so: the provision says that banks must raise no more than 25% of their deposits from the “corresponsal” locations. This would mean Wal-Mart could not offer banking services in-store as such services would be counted as “corresponsal” (as opposed to “brick-and-mortar” banking) and would surely exceed 25%. Mexico’s House of Representatives wants financial regulators to have the ability to override this restriction for certain banks, and this would no doubt provoke a flurry of intense lobbying from Wal-Mart.

Although Mexico is Latin America’s second-largest economy, it lags far behind other countries in offering financial services to its population, especially to poorer consumers. So why is more convenient and lower-cost access to financial services a bad thing? Passing the new law without the 25% restriction would encourage Wal-Mart to aggressively pursue a stranglehold on the market as many lower-income consumers already shop there. The retailer, however, has proven that it does not have the consumer’s best interests at heart: the interest rate on its store-brand credit card is an exorbitant 69.6%, high even by Mexican standards.

Additionally, Mexico is a dangerous country where bank robberies are frequent; turning “every Wal-Mart cash register into a bank” would only make customers and cashiers more attractive targets. Though the law is a good idea, it is intended to encourage growth for Mexico’s burgeoning microcredit businesses and small shops: not retail giants.

The original story in the Financial Times is republished below:

Go to any corner shop in Mexico and the chances are there will be a cluster of people buying avocados, detergent, green tomatoes and nopales – cactus paddles best served fresh from the grill.

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Wal-Mart’s Mexican invasion just sped up today with the company’s announcement that it will invest $805 million in the country, and open 252 new stores in 2009. The number is remarkable, given that Mexico is less significantly smaller than the U.S. where Wal-Mart is planning to open less than 150 new stores this year.

This aggressive growth also comes at a time of particular weakness for one of Wal-Mart’s main domestic Mexican competitors: the troubled Comercial, which last December was on the verge of bankruptcy. Wal-Mart has also challenged Mexico’s major commercial banks by offering its own store-brand credit card and other in-store financial services. Wal-Mart pledges to be “aggressive” in their Mexican moves, yet we’ve seen how this “aggressiveness” is connected to Wal-Mart’s poor treatment of its U.S. employees. One can only hope the Mexican government has the best interest of its people and workers at heart and makes sure Wal-Mart treats both its consumers and employees with the dignity they deserve.

Walmex to invest $805 million, open 252 stores [Business Week]

Wal-Mart de Mexico SA said Thursday it will invest 11.8 billion pesos ($805 million) and open 252 new stores in 2009 despite the slowing Mexican economy.

The investment represents a 4 percent increase compared to last year and will create 14,500 new direct jobs, said Walmex Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Solorzano.

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The saga of Wal-Mart’s efforts to provide financial services to Mexican consumers took a new twist today with word that Mexico’s Congress will consider legislation to fix the maximum interest rate that the retail giant and others can charge consumers. The move, initiated by the National Action Party (PAN), is surprising since PAN is known as Mexico’s pro-business party and in 2007 moved to enable Wal-Mart to offer banking services in-store for the first time. Nonetheless, critics have charged the government with failing to protect consumers from the exorbitant interest rates lenders, including Wal-Mart, charge. Wal-Mart spokesman Antonio Ocaranza has commented that Wal-Mart’s 69% rate on its credit card is “pretty low for this type of product”. Evidently, some in Mexico’s government do not agree.

The full story text is below:

Calderon’s Party Will Propose Law Lowering Loan Rates

Senators from Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s party will propose legislation to lower interest rates on loans, Senator Gustavo Madero said.

The proposal may set maximum interest rates that banks and other companies can charge consumers, said Madero, who is the senate leader for the National Action Party. The measure will replace or expand upon an initiative introduced in Congress last month that aimed to cap credit card interest rates, Madero said.

“Rates are too high,” Madero said late yesterday in an interview. “We’re going to address the cost of credit not only at banks, but also through commercial companies.”

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Wal-Mart’s invasion of the Mexican banking sector continues. Last year, the Mexican government granted Wal-Mart the authority, making them only the second retailer in Mexico to do so, to set up banking operations at its stores. Wal-Mart Bank started fast, with 115,000 new clients its first year and opening service desks in 357 stores, according to an article in Mexico’s El Milenio. That growth may be under challenge, however as this December a law passed the country’s Senate that would potentially prevent Wal-Mart from banking at all.

The bill, originally aimed at providing protections to Mexican consumers who use financial services by outlawing banks from sending pre-approved credit card and other offers by phone or mail, and increasing competitivity in the banking sector, was not satisfactory to Mexico’s major banking players, mostly multinationals like Citigroup and HSBC. Before the bill passed, the banking lobby demanded that the Senators include an Amendment limiting the amount of a bank’s total deposits taking place outside traditional “branch” locations to 25%. To get around the proposed law, the National Banking and Securities Commission, which according to one leading Mexican columnist is hell-bent on deregulating the financial sector, intends to use an administrative measure to authorize Wal-Mart to operate each one of its cash registers in its stores “as if it were a bank branch”.

Considering the disastrous effects financial deregulation and predatory lending practices have had on the U.S. economy, and considering Wal-Mart’s track record of offering exorbitant interest rates on its store-brand credit card, these latest maneuvers give serious cause for concern. Furthermore, in banking with Wal-Mart, Mexican consumers might not suffer only financial, but also physical harm; due to Mexico’s enormous problems with fraud and robberies, traditional branch banks in the country today are heavily guarded and the multinational banks use numerous electronic and physical security measures to protect their customers; these protections would be mostly absent at Wal-Mart’s nationwide cash registers.

The original article (translated) in Mexican newspaper La Jornada is printed below:

In spite of the fact that the [Mexican] Senate set limits on banks’ ability to offer financial services through third parties, such as retail stores now labeled so-called “bank branches”, the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) put forth an administrative measure to give Wal-Mart authorization for each one of its cash registers to become a bank branch.

This kind of authorization has been denied the retailer by U.S. authorities, said analysts.

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Wal-Mart has a long history of aggressively pushing into Mexico’s banking sector, and trying to keep various forms of payment within its stores. For example, earlier this year Mexico’s Supreme Court criticized Wal-Mart’s practice of compensating its employees with “voucher” cards only redeemable for goods within Wal-Mart stores, comparing this program to the existence of “company stores” under early 20th Century Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. Additionally, Wal-Mart also offers its own brand of banking services in-store, a practice that so far is illegal in the U.S. While Bancomer customers’ ability to pay credit card bills at Wal-Mart cash registers might seem beneficial, it could significantly draw business away from other banks who do not have access to the retail giant. And the move is particularly suspicious because Bancomer already administers Wal-Mart’s own brand of credit card, according to a recent USA Today story. With its own credit card, Wal-Mart has not exactly given fair lending terms: the card carries a whopping 69.6% annual interest rate, high even by Mexican standards. And given the recent financial crisis, caused in part by irresponsible lending practices, there is serious reason to doubt whether Wal-Mart’s offering of financial services to Mexico’s low- and middle-income consumers will serve their needs, or only drive them further into debt.

Mexican Customers Now Able to Pay Bancomer Credit Card Bills at Wal-Mart [El Sol de Mexico, 11/11/08]

Starting this week, [Mexican bank] BBVA Bancomer’s 5 million customers will be able to make credit card payments in Wal-Mart stores across Mexico, as part of the retailer’s and bank’s common strategy.

Bank customers will be able to make the payments in 745 locations of Wal-Mart de Mexico, including in different store formats, without paying additional fees and during more extensive hours than Bancomer’s own branch locations. They will be able to make payments 365 days per year in Wal-Mart, Bodega Aurrerá, Sam’s, Superama and Suburbia nationwide, taking advantage of the comfort, security and flexible hours that these stores offer.

Bancomer’s Director of Credit Cards and Consumer Banking, Rodrigo Manrique, commented that “the objective is to offer our customers more ways, and broader hours, to make their payments conveniently. Through this agreement, Wal-Mart de Mexico will receive an increased flow of customers in its stores, and both institutions will boost customer loyalty by offering them a superior service”.

For his part, Raúl Argüelles, Senior Vice-President of Corporate Affairs and Human Resources for Wal-Mart de Mexico, indicated that this commercial alliance permanently adds value to what his company offers to clients.

At the moment of paying at cash registers, users of this service will obtain a receipt of the transaction that has taken place, which they should keep since it will function as proof of payment should any further clarification be necessary. For the customer’s benefit, Bancomer will consider the day this transaction takes place, in any Wal-Mart de Mexico location, as the date of payment.

See the original article in Spanish here

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MANUAL INTRODUCTORIO SOBRE EL MENUDEO DE WAL-MART WATCH

“Todo alrededor del mundo, le ahorramos dinero a la gente, para que puedan vivir mejor. Esas son buenas noticias – en cualquier lenguaje.” – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

La Expansión Internacional de Wal-Mart
A mayo del 2007, las 7,343 tiendas de Wal-Mart y establecimientos de Sam’s Club en 14 mercados emplean más de dos millones de Asociados a nivel global, sirviendo a más de 179 millones de clientes al año. Wal-Mart no es sólo una compañía más, sino el menudista más grande de los Estados Unidos y del mundo entero.

Desde el 2002, Wal-Mart ha encabezado la lista de las 500 principales compañías de EU de la revista Fortune, excepto en el 2006, cuando quedó en segundo lugar detrás de Exxon-Mobil “pero sólo debido a que el precio mundial del petróleo había subido en un 50 por ciento” ese año.  Los ingresos anuales de Wal-Mart en el 2008 fueron de $378 mil millones.

A lo largo del mundo entero, Wal-Mart explota personas y recursos para su propio beneficio. Esas son malas noticias – en cualquier lenguaje. Mientras Wal-Mart busca capitalizar su estrategia internacional, trabaja para construir nuevos imperios de menudeo en otros países, en particular en India y Rusia.

Este manual introductorio tiene el propósito de educar activistas de todo el mundo acerca de las estrategias de desarrollo de Wal-Mart y de su impacto en la cultura menudista local. Las tácticas principales usadas por la compañía antes de entrar a un país incluyen 1.) crear sociedades con organizaciones y empresas locales. 2.) trabajar con funcionarios gubernamentales y 3.) aprovechar el creciente poder adquisitivo de la clase media. Hemos escogido México e india como dos casos de estudio internacionales para remarcar lo que sucede antes y después de que Wal-Mart entra a un país.

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WAL-MART WATCH: ОБЗОР РОЗНИЧНОГО РЫНКА

«По всему миру мы экономим людям деньги, повышая их уровень жизни. Это хорошая новость, на каком бы языке она ни сообщалась». – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Международная экспансия Wal-Mart
В мае 2007 года в сети Wal-Mart, насчитывающей 7 343 магазинов и оптовых центров Sam’s Club в 14 странах, работало свыше двух миллионов сотрудников, которые обслуживали более 179 миллионов клиентов в год. Wal-Mart – это не просто компания, это крупнейшая розничная сеть в США и во всем мире.

Начиная с 2002 года, Wal-Mart возглавляла список 500 крупнейших компаний мира, ежегодно публикуемый журналом Fortune, за исключением 2006 года, когда первое место заняла компания Exxon-Mobil, «но только из-за двукратного повышения мировых цен на нефть», произошедшего в том году.  Годовой оборот Wal-Mart в 2008 году составил 378 млрд. долларов США.

По всему миру Wal-Mart эксплуатирует людей и ресурсы, получая от этого прибыль. Это плохая новость, на каком бы языке она ни сообщалась. Стремясь извлечь выгоду из своей международной стратегии, компания Wal-Mart работает над созданием новых розничных империй в других странах, а именно в Индии и России.

Цель настоящего обзора – рассказать активистам из разных стран мира о стратегиях развития розничной сети Wal-Mart и о том влиянии, которое эта компания оказывает на местные рынки. Три главных тактики, используемых компанией для выхода на новый рынок, включают в себя: 1) установление партнерских отношений с местными фирмами и организациями 2) работу с представителями государственных структур, и 3) использование покупательской способности формирующегося среднего класса. Мы рассмотрим последствия появления Wal-Mart на рынке на примере двух стран – Мексики и Индии.

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CARTILHA DOS VIGILANTES DO WAL-MART

“Em todo o mundo, fazemos com que as pessoas economizem dinheiro, para que elas possam viver melhor. Isso é bom – em qualquer idioma.” – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Expansão internacional do Wal-Mart
Em maio de 2007, as 7.343 lojas do Wal-Mart e as unidades do Sam’s Club em 14 mercados empregam mais de dois milhões de Associados em todo o mundo, servindo a mais de 179 consumidores por ano. O Wal-Mart não é só mais uma empresa, mas a maior rede de lojas a varejo dos Estados Unidos e do mundo.

Desde 2002, o Wal-Mart está no topo da lista Fortune 500 - exceto em 2006, quando ficou em segundo lugar, atrás da Exxon-Mobil, “mas apenas porque o preço mundial do petróleo subiu 50 por cento” naquele ano.  A receita anual do Wal-Mart em 2008 foi de US$ 378 bilhões.

Em todo o mundo, o Wal-Mart explora pessoas e recursos para obter lucro. Isso é mau – em qualquer idioma. Enquanto o Wal-Mart busca beneficiar-se de sua estratégia internacional, segue trabalhando na construção de novos impérios de lojas a varejo em outros países, mais especificamente na Índia e na Rússia.

Esta cartilha tem o propósito de informar aos ativistas ao redor do mundo sobre as estratégias de desenvolvimento de vendas a varejo do Wal-Mart, e o impacto da empresa nas culturas varejistas locais. As três principais táticas usadas pela empresa antes de entrar em um país são: 1.) construir parcerias com empresas e organizações locais; 2.) trabalhar com oficiais do governo e 3.) explorar o poder de compra da classe média emergente. Escolhemos os estudos de caso internacionais do México e da Índia para exemplificar o que acontece depois que o Wal-Mart entra em um país.

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वॉलमार्ट वॉच खुद्रा प्रवेशि‍का
“हम संसार भर के लोगों के पैसों की बचत करते हैं ताकि‍ उनका जीवन स्‍तर अच्‍छा हो सके. संसार के सभी भाषा-भाषि‍यों के लि‍ए यह एक अच्‍छी ख़बर है.” – वॉलमार्ट स्‍टोर्स इंकोरपोरेटि‍ड

वॉलमार्ट का अंतर्राष्‍ट्रीय वि‍स्‍तार
मई 2007 के आँकड़ों के मुताबि‍क, वॉलमार्ट के कुल 7,343 स्‍टोर हैं और 14 बाज़ारों में सैम्‍स क्‍लब स्‍थि‍त है. इनमें वि‍श्‍व भर के उसके 20 लाख सहयोगी कार्यरत हैं, जो हर साल 17 करोड़ 90 लाख से ज़्यादा ग्राहकों के लि‍ए काम करते हैं. वॉलमार्ट कोई ऐरी-गैरी कंपनी नहीं है. ये संयुक्‍त राज्‍य अमेरि‍का और संसार की सबसे बड़ी खुद्रा कंपनी है.

सन् 2002 से आज तक वॉलमार्ट फ़ॉर्चून 500 सूची में सबसे ऊपर रही है. सि‍र्फ़ सन् 2006 में ही वह इस सूची में दूसरे स्‍थान पर लुढ़की थी. उस समय पहले स्‍थान पर एक्‍सॉन-मोबि‍ल कंपनी का नाम आया था. “उस साल तेल की वि‍श्‍व कीमतों में 50 प्रति‍शत की बढ़ोतरी की वजह से ही यह संभव हुआ था.  सन् 2008 में वॉलमार्ट की सालाना आमदनी 3.78 खरब डॉलर थी.

वॉलमार्ट संसार भर के लोगों और अपने स्‍त्रोतों को अपने फ़ायदे के लि‍ए इस्‍तेमाल करती है. संसार के हरेक भाषा-भाषी के लि‍ए यह एक कटु सत्‍य है. जैसे- जैसे वॉलमार्ट अपनी अंतर्राष्‍ट्रीय नीति‍ पर और आगे बढ़ना चाह रही है, वैसे-वैसे वह अपने खुद्रा बाज़ार के साम्राज्‍य को भारत और रूस जैसे अन्‍य देशों में बढ़ाने की कोशि‍श कर रही है.

इस प्रवेशि‍का का उद्देश्‍य संसार भर में फैले कार्यकर्ताओं को वॉलमार्ट के खुद्रा वि‍कास रणनीति‍यों और स्‍थानीय खुद्रा संस्‍कारों में कंपनी के प्रभाव के बारे में शि‍क्षि‍त करना है. कि‍सी भी देश में प्रवेश करने से पहले यह कंपनी तीन काम करती है: 1) पहला, वो स्‍थानीय व्‍यापारि‍यों और संगठनों के साथ साझेदारि‍याँ कायम करती है, 2) दूसरा, वह सरकारी अफ़सरों के साथ काम करती है और 3) तीसरा काम, कि‍ वह उभरते हुए मध्‍य वर्ग की क्रय क्षमता में अपनी पैठ बना लेती है. वॉलमार्ट के कि‍सी देश में घुसने से पहले और बाद में, उस देश में क्‍या-क्‍या होता है, इसको प्रकाशि‍त करने के लि‍ए हमने एक अंतर्राष्‍ट्रीय केस अध्‍ययन करने के लि‍ए दो देशों को चुना है. वे देश हैं: मेक्‍सि‍को और भारत.

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沃尔玛观察网零售期刊

“我们为世界各地的人们省钱，因此他们能够生活得更好。 这是个好消息 – 无论以任何语言。” – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

沃尔玛的国际扩张
截止 2007 年 6 月，沃尔玛在 14 个市场中的 7,343 家分店和山姆会员店地点雇用了来自世界各地的 200 多万名员工，每年服务于超过 1.79 亿个顾客。 沃尔玛并不仅是又一家公司，而是美国及全球最大的零售商。

自 2002 年起，沃尔玛就一直位于财富 500 强之首，除了 2006 年位居 Exxon-Mobil 之后排在第二位，“但这仅是由于世界油价在当年上涨了 50%”。 沃尔玛在 2008 年的年收入达 3780 亿美元。

沃尔玛充分利用全球的人力与资源，因此获益。 这是个坏消息 – 无论以任何语言。 就在沃尔玛试图利用其国际策略时，它正努力在其它国家/地区（即印度和俄罗斯）构建新的零售帝国。

该巨头计划培训世界各地的积极分子有关沃尔玛的零售发展战略以及公司对当地零售文化的影响。 在进入某个国家之前该公司采纳的三大战略包括 1.) 与当地企业和组织建立合作关系 2.) 与政府官员一起合作 3.) 激发新兴中产阶级的购买力。 我们已选择墨西哥和印度作为两大国际案例研究，以强调沃尔玛在进入某个国家前后所发生的事件。

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WAL-MART WATCH RETAIL PRIMER

“All around the world, we save people money, so they can live better. That’s good news – in any language.” – Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Wal-Mart’s International Expansion
As of May 2007, Wal-Mart’s 7,343 stores and Sam’s Club locations in 14 markets employ more than two million Associates world wide, serving more than 179 million customers a year. Wal-Mart isn’t just another company but it is the largest retailer in the United States and in the world.

Since 2002, Wal-Mart has topped the Fortune 500 list, except for in 2006, when it trailed in second place behind Exxon-Mobil “but only because the world price of oil had risen 50 percent” in that year.  Wal-Mart’s annual revenue in 2008 was $378 billion.

All around the world, Wal-Mart exploits people and resources, so Wal-Mart can profit. That’s bad news – in any language. As Wal-Mart seeks to capitalize on its international strategy, it is working toward building new retail empires in other countries, namely India and Russia.

This primer is intended to educate activists around the world about Wal-Mart’s retail development strategies and the company’s impact on local retail culture. The three primary tactics used by the company prior to entering a country include 1.) building partnerships with local businesses and organizations 2.) working with government officials and 3.) tapping into the burgeoning middle class’s purchasing power. We have chosen Mexico and India as two international case studies to highlight what happens before and after Wal-Mart enters a country.

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Apparently, the highly-publicized annual Wal-Mart analyst’s meeting served a purpose other than announcing that Wal-Mart plans to: scale-down domestic expansion, improve existing stores, and embark on foreign conquest.  They also announced a new venture from Sam’s Club, slated to debut in Houston next year. It is a new club-format store, geared toward Hispanics, creatively titled: Más Club ("More Club” in Spanish. They could name every Sam’s this, no?).

The clubs will feature an expanded selection of Hispanic foods and products produced in Mexico and Latin America.  The Houston Chronicle reports that the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, has estimated that the Hispanic population will account for 1.2 trillion dollars of spending power by 2012 - and Sam’s Club wants a piece of the action. 

The store looks to drape itself Hispanic culture, featuring a cafe that sells ‘fresh’ tortillas (sounds delicious) and branding itself in the red, green and white of Mexican flag. Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Sam’s Club is quoted in Reuters:

“Our objective is to create an additional shopping choice that provides currently unavailable value for families, restaurant owners, convenience stores and more...”

McMillon chose not to discuss Mas Club’s suppliers. Given that it will be carrying mostly Hispanic products, “Mas Club” might actually break a new Wal-Mart record for percentage of products not made in the U.S.  But Latin American suppliers beware. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is notorious for bullying down their suppliers to sell products at a price they can barely afford (Vlasic, Levis). 

While the first store is to serve as a prototype, The Northwest Arkansas Morning News said McMillon is ”pumped” about the new chain, which will also feature gas stations…

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Wal-Mart doesn’t have a bank yet in the U.S., but that isn’t stopping ‘em from forging full-steam ahead in Canada and Mexico.

In classic shrewd fashion, Wal-Mart seems to be using the financial crisis and the credit crunch to its advantage. Today’s story in PR Week isn’t the first to imply that Wal-Mart’s application for a bank in Canada might be “received favourably” by officials in a weak economy.

The story also noted for the umpteenth time that:

Wal-Mart Canada did not return calls for comment. In its notice, the retailer did not disclose what kind of banking services it would provide, but it is expected to offer credit card, mortgage, and investment products.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg News story today tells us that Wal-Mex’s bank is growing. Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB is charging ahead south of the border and planning to unload 100,000 credit cards on Mexicans, targeting primarily the 75 percent of the population who’ve never had a bank account.

Issuing more credit cards as Mexico’s economy slows would allow Walmex, as the company is known, to collect annual interest of as high as 75 percent and encourage purchases of more expensive appliances and furniture at its stores, the only place the cards can be used. Walmex is preparing more financial products aimed at customers who have never had a bank account, about 75 percent of Mexico’s 103 million people.

In case you missed that: Wal-Mart is encouraging Mexicans to go in debt at 75 percent interest.

Presumably, Wal-Mart is trying to set up working bank operations in Canada and Mexico before trying again to apply in the U.S. And now they seem to be using the financial crisis as another tool to get into the banking game.

They certainly can’t expect us to keep quiet about any it.

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Remember back in June, when the FDA warned consumers about eating certain kinds of tomatoes coming out of Mexico due to potential salmonella contamination? And then expanded that warning to include certain peppers as well?  All vendors of these products, including Wal-Mart were to halt the sale of such items.

Cheryl Grubbs is filing suit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, alleging that her husband, Brian Grubbs came close to death after eating several jalapeno peppers that were purchased at a Wal-Mart and tainted with salmonella in an article published today in LawyersandSettlements.com.

[An earlier version of this blog post mentioned that the FDA recall in question occured on June 25, 2008. This was incorrect: we apologize for the mistake.]

Tomato-Pepper Salmonella: Why the Grubbs are Suing Wal-Mart

Dolores, CO: “Truckloads of contaminated jalapenos were turned back at the border before we bought them at Wal-Mart,” says Cheryl Grubbs, “so why did Wal-Mart still have them in their store?” Her husband, Brian Grubbs, almost died from the tomato/pepper salmonella outbreak, and Cheryl is furious because his illness could have been avoided.

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MEXICAN SUPREME COURT SLAMS WAL-MART’S LABOR PRACTICES

Mexico’s Supreme Court rules against Wal-Mart’s labor practices [AlterDestiny]

Mexico’s Supreme Court has been making some really interesting decisions lately. Last week they upheld Mexico City’s law to provide access to abortion. Yesterday, they ruled in favor of a Wal-Mart employee in Mexico who brought a case against the corporation for its practice of providing store coupons in place of a portion of one’s salary.  (English story here, Spanish here). The court likened Wal-Mart’s practice to the old company stores that operated under the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (1876-1910), that were subsequently outlawed with the 1917 constitution.

Walmart Slammed by Mexican Court [Politics and Hypocrisy]

Now to be fair, I am far from knowledgeable on the working conditions in Mexico. I do know that they must be bad enough to cause 1000’s of Mexicans to cross our borders yearly in search of a better life.

So knowing that, how bad must Walmart be in Mexico if their Supreme Court is criticizing their labor practices? I’ll give you a hint, an 1890’s dictator and store only salary vouchers are mentioned.

I wonder if they tell their employees how to vote down there as well?

After the jump, Wal-Mart’s new in-store TV network, the company’s outreach to mommy bloggers and why you should love the REALLY free market.

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In the past, we’ve compared Wal-Mart to the Harry Potter villain Voldemort, as a way to highlight the retailer’s harsh treatment of employees and devastating impact on small towns. The Mexican Supreme Court has made an even more extreme condemnation: the court recently compared Wal-Mart’s labor practices to those of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz, whose rule was known for brutal use of power and widespread corruption.

The comparison arose after a Wal-Mart employee complained to the court that Wal-Mart was essentially paying its workers in store credit, rather than actual money. Vouchers handed out to employees as part of their salary could only be used at Wal-Mart stores, the employee said. President Diaz used similar plans during his regime.

Labor problems have dogged Wal-Mart in Mexico since it began expanding in the country in the early 2000s. A worker strike at several Walmex stores in February ended suspiciously, leading many to wonder if the company hired false negotiators or intimidated employees. Prior to that incident, Wal-Mart workers rallied in Mexico City to demand better conditions and a union. The company has also been criticized for refusing to pay teenagers employed as baggers at its Mexico stores. In light of these problems, the Supreme Court’s comparison seems somewhat fitting.

Mexico’s Supreme Court slams Walmart’s labor practices [AFP]

Mexico’s Supreme Court compared the practices of US retail giant Walmart in Mexico to employer-worker relations during the dictatorship of former president Porfirio Diaz.

Diaz served as president and absolute ruler of Mexico from 1877-80 and from 1884-1911.

Mexico’s top court on Thursday backed a Walmart employee who had complained that vouchers handed out by the company as part of its salary payments could only be spent in the company’s stores.

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Well, first it was the tomato that was the culprit. Then tomatoes were deemed clean, and safe to eat again. Then, in a twist of culinary fate, a new villain in the salmonella outbreak showed its face - a spicy little number possibly originating at a farm down in Mexico. The jalepeno pepper. And now the tiny pepper has turned its capsaicin-spewing fury on Wal-Mart.

Actually, the complaint at issue was filed on behalf of Delores, Colorado resident Brian Grubbs against Wal-Mart and an unknown supplier, referred to in the complaint as “John Doe”. According to the lawsuit, the Grubbs family purchased jalapeño peppers from the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cortez, Colorado in late June. Grubbs and his family proceeded to eat them over the next week. According to the Rocky Mountain News:

Samples showed he was positive for salmonella Saintpaul, and later the jalapeño peppers back at his house that he hadn’t yet eaten also tested positive for that strain of salmonella, the suit said.

“Consumers believe that retailers like Wal-Mart know the quality and safety of products they sell,” Marler said. “Retailers benefit from that trust, and must be held accountable for the products they sell.”

Salmonella is, of course, no fun at all - Salmonellosis illnesses from the Saintpaul strain began showing up in Texas and New Mexico in late April, and in early June the CDC linked those illnesses to raw tomatoes and issued consumer warnings. Those warnings were, of course, completely wrong - the list of possible culprits was first widened before eventually being narrowed to raw jalapeno and serrano peppers.

On July 30, the FDA confirmed the presence of salmonella Saintpaul at a farm in Mexico, both in irrigation water and on produce. The investigation is continuing.

Man sickened by jalapeños files first salmonella lawsuit [Rocky Mountain News]

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