In the 1990s Walmart decided to advance into German territory. It was the biggest retailer in the world, with 3,800 stores in America alone and a huge pile of cash to spend. And Germany's retail sector was in a lamentable state. The Arkansas giant bought two German chains-Wert-kauf (with 21 stores) and Interspar (with 74)-and immediately began Americanising them. There were greeters at the door to wish shoppers a good day and strict instructions to smile at customers. The result was a disaster. The have-a-nice-day stuff went down like a lead Zeppelin with employees and shoppers alike. And Walmart compounded its mistakes by putting an American expat in charge of the German operations (he insisted on everybody speaking English). The company lost $150m a year and soon decided to sell out to a German rival, Metro.
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