Funny. They don't have those over here in Germany. Or should i say "had", because although they expanded rapidly they left Germany not long ago and sold all their estate to their biggest competitor. At least in Germany their concept didn't work out.
Phew. Good question, dag. They had a lot of american stuff in the beginnig, but obviously it didn't work out and so they changed it soon after. On the "pro" side they had top locations and low prices. But if i had to guess i would say it mainly didn't work out for two reasons:
1) these big stores are indeed not very popular in Germany. You have to know we don't have many Malls and stuff. And if, they are very different from those in the US (no food courts etc). Everything is a bit smaller over here, even in the big cities. People over here also don't buy these big packets. Boy was i suprised when i saw one of those huge Doritos bags for the first time ;-) we don't have those.
2) Wal-Mart is very about low prices. And this role is already taken by ALDI, which is a very strange (german?) thing: They are extremely about prices (don't even have many regular shelfs, the stores are full stillages [hope this is the right word]). A few years ago it was somewhat "embarassing" to buy there, no one admitted it. But over the years it became somewhat trendy to buy at ALDI and nowadays its even somewhat "chic".
Another difference in my eyes is the fact that over here people tend to buy their things at different stores: Beverages there, food there etc.
The only really big stores are/were Wal-Mart and Real, only the latter survied and they are in big trouble too. They are the ones who bought nearly all the wal-mart stores by the way.
Oh, and one thing: In Germany trade-unions are VERY strong. And we have VERY strong laws regarding dismissal protection [again, not sure about the translation]. If you hire someone in Germany, it´s very, very hard to fire that person afterwards. That's a big topic in politics also. And the laws about working hours are very strict. And in Germany opening hours a regulated by law (no 24/7 allowed for example). ...and so on and so forth ;-)
You see Dag, Germany isn't Wal-Marts preferred enviroment i would say. I guess they had mostly american management who weren't used to these big differences.
well, we got kfc, mc donalds or burger king which are open until 5AM or something like that... or maybe some good döner kebab can save your life at night. thats not the problem ... only the shops aren't open over night. you can also get something at the gas station. they are often open for all night.
i'm just realising that it's getting hard for me to write in english ... i have to do it more often.
Gapo is right. Especially gas stations are your perfect solution. Some of them are open 24/7 and they more and more have food and beverages. That fact started quite some discussions over here because naturally "traditional" shops blame those stations for their problems. But there´s quite some movement in opening hours laws in Germany. Not long ago it was only 6pm, then 6.30pm, then 8pm, now it´s 10pm (not everywhere and even if this opportunity is barely utilized). And there are more exceptions (like once a month up to 12pm).
I guess in a few years we'll have 24/6. No 24/7 because Sunday is an absolute no-no, most of the states in Germany are governed by the christian (=catholic) party and they will never ever allow folks to open their stores on sunday. ...except for gas stations of course ;-)
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I hate Wally World.
Yes they really have greeters.
1) these big stores are indeed not very popular in Germany. You have to know we don't have many Malls and stuff. And if, they are very different from those in the US (no food courts etc). Everything is a bit smaller over here, even in the big cities. People over here also don't buy these big packets. Boy was i suprised when i saw one of those huge Doritos bags for the first time ;-) we don't have those.
2) Wal-Mart is very about low prices. And this role is already taken by ALDI, which is a very strange (german?) thing: They are extremely about prices (don't even have many regular shelfs, the stores are full stillages [hope this is the right word]). A few years ago it was somewhat "embarassing" to buy there, no one admitted it. But over the years it became somewhat trendy to buy at ALDI and nowadays its even somewhat "chic".
Another difference in my eyes is the fact that over here people tend to buy their things at different stores: Beverages there, food there etc.
The only really big stores are/were Wal-Mart and Real, only the latter survied and they are in big trouble too. They are the ones who bought nearly all the wal-mart stores by the way.
Oh, and one thing: In Germany trade-unions are VERY strong. And we have VERY strong laws regarding dismissal protection [again, not sure about the translation]. If you hire someone in Germany, it´s very, very hard to fire that person afterwards. That's a big topic in politics also. And the laws about working hours are very strict. And in Germany opening hours a regulated by law (no 24/7 allowed for example). ...and so on and so forth ;-)
You see Dag, Germany isn't Wal-Marts preferred enviroment i would say. I guess they had mostly american management who weren't used to these big differences.
I hope this answers your question :-)
The rest of the photo set is wonderful; all a-ooze with teenage optimism and rebellion.
i'm just realising that it's getting hard for me to write in english ... i have to do it more often.
I guess in a few years we'll have 24/6. No 24/7 because Sunday is an absolute no-no, most of the states in Germany are governed by the christian (=catholic) party and they will never ever allow folks to open their stores on sunday. ...except for gas stations of course ;-)