I worked, attended University, and lived in Germany for almost a decade.
As usual you folks have a lot of opinions, very little of which is factual.
German consumers have a different orientation than US consumers. They are more "like" Scandinavians in terms of world view, social conscience, and perception of value. They are a frugal people saving almost as much of their salaries (as a percentage of annual earnings) as the Japanese, yet they did not accept Walmart. I think it would be difficult to understand the German psyche within the context of a single post here on ET.
What I can say, is that I am not surprised. It seems only natural that German people, especially the older German worker, would hesitate to patronize Walmart. It is not only the ethical stance with regard to products and labor, but that Walmart represents a departure from the known, dependable, traditional, world that they grew up in. This is just a small (but significant) part of the problem for the German consumer.
Now if someone wants to have a real, and presumably intelligent conversation about this let me know.
Steve
