Wal Mart de Mexico

There's an interesting article in the NY Times today about widespread bribery by Wal Mart in their quest for market dominance in Mexico.
Chris

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/business/at-wal-mart-in-mexico-a-bribe-inquiry-silenced.html?_r=1&hp

Thanks Rolly.

A great read. A good employer in Mexico and one of the worst in the USA. Now we see what they're really made of. This is how "free market's" work. Whoever has the money, influence, and financial incentive changes the rules of the game. They all cheat. It's 21st century capitalism at its best. I wonder how much the Chapala officials collected?

It's just Folks trying ta get ahead...

Corp Board gets raises all around

Ceos get their Bonuses

Government Types get their Graft

Po Folks get their Pot Ta Piss In ( doubles as their soup bowl )....

U best watch what U say about Capitalism runn'n it's course...

They might kick U outta Atlas!!

As far as I am concerned, I will go most anywhere to shop before I darken the doors at WallyWorld! Kathy might drag me kicking and screaming a couple of times a year but I just don't care for their product mix, their lack of any kind of customer service or having to tolerate so many other shoppers who appear to have their heads where the sun doesn't shine.

I like having the option to shop at Wal Mart,so do a lot of mexicans,that said the article does serve to remind us how cutthroat an organization they are,but compared to the Salinas de Gotari/Carlos Slim team they're pikers when it comes to corruption in Mexico.

CheenaGringo wrote:As far as I am concerned, I will go most anywhere to shop before I darken the doors at WallyWorld! Kathy might drag me kicking and screaming a couple of times a year but I just don't care for their product mix, their lack of any kind of customer service or having to tolerate so many other shoppers who appear to have their heads where the sun doesn't shine.

Let´s get one thing straight. WalMart in Albuquerque is not even remotely WalMart in Mexico. Entirely different operations the same as the Sears operations in Mexico versus the U.S. whether you like or dislike the the owner(s) here in Mexico of WalMart or Sears.

When Dawg moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Mexico in 2001 with repeated visits over much of the country from Quntana Roo to Yucatan to Oaxaca to you name it, the retail big box business in this nation was a disgrace. Rotting vegetables, spoiled meat and stinking fish was the norm. Inventories even in large retail chains and certainly in local markets were laughably inadequate. When we first moved to Chiapas in 2006, the municipal wholesale butcher and water purification distributors in San Cristóbal to say nothing of rural areas of that state were making people sick with their tainted products unfit for human consumption. In fact, the managements of the local municipal rastro and one of the most reputable water purification companies in town were charged with selling tainted merchhandise locally. Nobody, large or small, had any shame about selling stale and spoiled merchandise to people at absurdly high prices and WalMart came in here and kicked their asses. I can tell you without equivocation that other huge retail chains cleaned up their acts while one huge French discount retail chain packed its bags and left town.

Dawg is no fan of WalWart and wouldn´t even enter the front door of a WalMart in the United States but they came into Mexico and forced their competitors to shape up or ship out. They literally changed the retail industry here in Mexico and I give them credit for that. That means the mom-and-pop business as well which was a disgrace here in 2001.

I hear these uninformed shoppers at Lakeside bragging about the tiangues in Chapala, Ajijic and Jocotepec which are, for the most part, nothing more than two-bit extensions of the Guadalajara abastos and they decry WalMart but most of them have never seen a real local municipal market as we have in Chiapas. I remember a few years ago during the teachers´stike in Oaxaca City when the local markets dried up because the autopista from Puebla state where all that "local" produce actually was grown some 700 kilometers distant, was shut down by striking teachers. I´ll tell you this; if the fresh produce in the indigenous market in San Cristóbal de Las Casas does not arrive as expected it´s no more than 15 kilometers away being delayed by demands for a toll from the EZLN because it´s Emiliano Zapata´s birthday.

If any of you can´t remember the disgraceful rotting vegetabes and green meat and stinking fish of Mexico in 2001 then do not pontificate about that with which you are unfamiliar. Dawg is, of course, not speaking of Cheenagringo who is a friend and with whom I expect to share a cold brew upon our next reunion but I guess the WalMart in Albuquerque is out of the picture. Dawg knows a couple of places on Lake Chapala or on the beach in Chiapas,

Oh bullshit, dawg. Aurrera had great stores prior to Wal-Mart's arrival and Gigante didn't offer rotten veggies and green meat. Sometimes you all really full of shit.

They just opened a Mega near us,pretty good bakery and meat dept.,better than Wal Mart,Soriana,Chedrauri,etc.IMO.

Solovino wrote:Oh bullshit, dawg. Aurrera had great stores prior to Wal-Mart's arrival and Gigante didn't offer rotten veggies and green meat. Sometimes you all really full of shit.

Dawg has never been into a Gigante since, as far as I know, they do not have a branch in any town in which I have lived and shopped. I will say this, however, WalMart opened a Bodega Aurrera store next to a Sam´s Club last year in San Cristóbal de Las Casas and Dawg presumes that is the stepchild to the Aurrera grocery chain to which you refer prior to WalMart´s having purchased it. I haven´t shopped there often as I usually shop at the Chedraui market in San Cristóbal since they have all these old French wines that nobody buys and they sell really cheap but the last time I was in Bodega Aurrera in San Cristóbal I bought some broccoli that was so old that, when I looked at the stem, I saw the engraving "Amerigo Vespucci was here" carved into the side. The lettuce there is so old it had curled and uncurled so they have put it into jars, doubled the price and are selling it as artisanally processed lettuce to be reconstituted in purified water for 15 minutes and served in Roquefort Sandwiches..

I have to admit to stepping into the WallyWorld at the Lake last August. Partially because I had read so many people bitching about the place and partially because we saw that they had a stand selling Mexican Independence Day merchandise. While I don't think I went in with a negative attitude, I cannot say that I was impressed with what I saw.

viajero wrote:They just opened a Mega near us,pretty good bakery and meat dept.,better than Wal Mart,Soriana,Chedrauri,etc.IMO.

Now, viajero, we are not talking about a Mega that just opened near you in 2001 are we? Dawg never even implied WalMart was the best market in Mexico, only that its influence and retail skills were important in improving the competition in this country which needed an example to follow.

Dawg remembers going into large supermarkets back in 2003 in Playa Del Carmen and Tulum and, within sight of the Caribbean, finding stinking, rotten fish and disgusting, rotting vegetables. Dawg was planning to cook some fish fresh that night from the Caribbean at the beach shack we had rented in Tulum. We settled for a bag of potato chips and some XX Lager.

Bodega Aurrera stores are Wal-Mart's stores aimed at less affluent clientele. They are nothing like the old upscale Aurrera stores which were bought out by Wal-Mart. The first Wal-Mart stores were opened in existing Aurerra facilities. The Aurrera in Plaza México was our favorite super market in Guadalajara. Gigante stores no longer exist. They closed their grocery stores a few yaers back and rented the properties to Soriana . The Gigante in Plaza del Sol was another store we shopped at frequently along with the one on the corner of Lopez Mateos and Av. de las Rosas.
Somewhere around 1980 Commercial Mexicana opened a mega-store in Plaza Angel on Lopez Mateos. It always offered top quality produce although as in all stores and abastos markets in those days the selection and variety were nowhere near what they are today. But that is due to NAFTA and not Wal-Mart's presence in the marketplace.


And BTW Carrefor had the grungiest supermarkets in GDL in the few years they existed. I believe Chedraui took over their facilities and improved them tremendously.

In the year after Wal-Mart opened in Torreón, I noticed a major improvement in the Soriana where I shop -- more selections and better fresh produce. They even started advertising that their prices were better than W-M.

CheenaGringo wrote:I have to admit to stepping into the WallyWorld at the Lake last August. Partially because I had read so many people bitching about the place and partially because we saw that they had a stand selling Mexican Independence Day merchandise. While I don't think I went in with a negative attitude, I cannot say that I was impressed with what I saw.

How can one expect to be impressed when walking into a big box store? I think that, perhaps, some were not being attentive to my point that WalMart cleaned up the unforgivably ineptly run major retail businesses in Mexico when it established itself here - not when it opened a branch at Lakeside which was a problematic outlet for some time due to mismanagement.

Dawg hates WalMart so why are you folks putting me in the position of defending this indefensible hillbilly temple of American consumerism which is almost assuredly the tackiest thing that ever rose from the dust on the planet? Dawg already made it clear that the dawn would not arise that I would EVER step through the front door of the WalMart in Texarkana or Moline or, for that matter, Boston. You people are driving me crazy. I´m calling my shrink back in Oakland. If nothing else, we can share a bottle of single malt scotch since Dawg is, after all, a Scot by birth but damned pleased my ancestors left that cold, miserable place well before my entrance onto the globe.

Rolly wrote:In the year after Wal-Mart opened in Torreón, I noticed a major improvement in the Soriana where I shop -- more selections and better fresh produce. They even started advertising that their prices were better than W-M.

Comparative price advertising is also a fairly recent thing. It was prohibited until not long ago.

hound dog wrote:

viajero wrote:They just opened a Mega near us,pretty good bakery and meat dept.,better than Wal Mart,Soriana,Chedrauri,etc.IMO.

Now, viajero, we are not talking about a Mega that just opened near you in 2001 are we? Dawg never even implied WalMart was the best market in Mexico, only that its influence and retail skills were important in improving the competition in this country which needed an example to follow.

Dawg remembers going into large supermarkets back in 2003 in Playa Del Carmen and Tulum and, within sight of the Caribbean, finding stinking, rotten fish and disgusting, rotting vegetables. Dawg was planning to cook some fish fresh that night from the Caribbean at the beach shack we had rented in Tulum. We settled for a bag of potato chips and some XX Lager.

On a happier note I can tell you that the "tiendas de la esquina" and the tianguies in our neighborhood still do a very good business despite the fact that there are 3 Wal Marts within 10 minutes drive time,as far as buying seafood at any of these chains,no gracias.

[quote="Rolly"]In the year after Wal-Mart opened in Torreón, I noticed a major improvement in the Soriana where I shop -- more selections and better fresh produce. They even started advertising that their prices were better than W-M.[/quote]

Thank you for that, Rolly. You seem to be the only reader who understood my point. You had to be there when WalMart opened a Sam´s Club and Bodega Aurrera and watched Chedraui, which had had a lock on San Cristóbal de Las Casas for years, get its shit together because WalMart made them shit their pants. Suddenly, the fish market at Chedraui no longer stank of rotting fish and the veggies were fresh and enticing and the meat products were fresh and well-presented. Actually, now we shop at Chedraui rather than Bodega Aurrera or Sam´s club because we like it much better but WalMart´s stores made them what they are today.

You don´t have to be a capitalist swine to understand that it is human nature to comprehend that competition benefits us all and well-managed competition kicks ass.

By the way, Dawg misses your wit and intellect over at Mexico Connect and had I not had differences with a moderator no longer there, I would still be a member, especially posting from Chiapas. We were unable to make our usual trip to San Cristóbal this year for personal reasons but Mexico Connect is the only forum tuned even remotely to that region in English and I had intended to post vignettes from there occasionally. An unfortunate state of affairs but not likely reparable. That´s life. Your support has always been appreciated.

viajero wrote: as far as buying seafood at any of these chains,no gracias.

You got that right!

hound dog wrote: Thank you for that, Rolly. You seem to be the only reader who understood my point. ......


By the way, Dawg misses your wit and intellect over at Mexico Connect .....


An unfortunate state of affairs but not likely reparable. That´s life. Your support has always been appreciated.

Licking other's butts is normal in real dogs, dawg, but disgusting when practiced amongst fellow humans. Is your desire/need to post again on MC worth it?

...And BTW Carrefor had the grungiest supermarkets in GDL in the few years they existed. I believe Chedraui took over their facilities and improved them tremendously.[/quote]

Thanks for that, Solovino:

Dawg could not remember the name of the French Carrefour chain that WalMart and other big box retailers ran out of town. You are right on the mark that Carrefour set up shop in the crappy parts of town in Guadalajara and ran ratty shops which was a successful French concept where Carrefour always was located in low-rent districts - a very successful marketing plan in France but not compatable, it seems with Mexico where shoppers were repelled by driving into low-rent districts to shop.

Now, I have to tell you something I did not reveal on my first post regarding Carrefour later purchased by Chedraui. The reason we always or, almost always, shop at Chedraui in San Cristóbal rather than those other big box stores is that they still have inventories of those French wines they acquired from Carrefour and they have no idea what those wines are worth so they sell them at discounted prices. Of course, that may be over by now but who knows.

While you are burdened with hatred of Dawg, I am not pursued by the same spectre so I congratulate you on having been well bred even if you are, by nature, a jerk but an articulate jerk which is a good thing.

[quote="Solovino"]

hound dog wrote: Thank you for that, Rolly. You seem to be the only reader who understood my point. ......


By the way, Dawg misses your wit and intellect over at Mexico Connect .....


An unfortunate state of affairs but not likely reparable. That´s life. Your support has always been appreciated.

Licking other's butts is normal in real dogs, dawg, but disgusting when practiced amongst fellow humans. Is your desire/need to post again on MC worth it?[/quote]

Dawg is fond of Rolly and some others with administrative authority at MC but if you presumed I was the supplicant in this exchange you are presumptuous. I now regret having said something nice about your sorry ass before having read this insulting if, at the same time, affable posting. As for licking butts, Dawg has not always found such behavior repugnant if also, perhaps, unhealthful, smartass.

Dawg thinks that, perhaps a bit more social interaction with human beings may have stood you well when you were a kid hanging out in the backwoods in Chiapas kissing bears´ asses. It´s no wonder you left Jersey City before the last train to Delaware.

hound dog wrote:..

You are right on the mark that Carrefour set up shop in the crappy parts of town in Guadalajara and ran ratty shops which was a successful French concept where Carrefour always was located in low-rent districts - a very successful marketing plan in France but not compatable, it seems with Mexico where shoppers were repelled by driving into low-rent districts to shop.

.

The only Carrefour we visited in Guadalajara was located on Acueducto near the periferico in a very upscale area of town. You are correct about the wines. Even when it was still Carrefour there were bargains to be found and I always stopped in when nearby to check them out.

hound dog wrote:
Dawg thinks that, perhaps a bit more social interaction with human beings may have stood you well when you were a kid hanging out in the backwoods in Chiapas kissing bears´ asses. It´s no wonder you left Jersey City before the last train to Delaware.

I didn't notice your sorry fat ass in the pics of the get together the other day, either, Señor Socialable.