SHENZHEN, China (AP) – Zhong Guoyan sifted through piles of fish at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, one of China’s largest cities. She studied the fins, to make sure they were bright red and firm. She peered at the eyeballs – were they bulging?
“When I come here, I have a look,” she said. “If it’s good, then I will buy it. If it’s only cheap, I won’t buy it.”
In American Wal-Marts, customers don’t get to fondle their fish. But America is not China, as the world’s biggest retailer has learned. If the Arkansas-based company wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions that are fast changing.
Zhong eventually tossed a couple of fish into a plastic bag – a small victory in Wal-Mart’s struggle to build an international empire.
The stakes are high: The company can’t count on much growth in the U.S. – it’s facing challenges at home with intense competition from Amazon.com and dollar stores – so the retailer is depending more on its operations overseas.