What's interesting here -- toward the end of the article, it mentions that Carrefour is also bailing out of South Korea. The British (Tesco) are doing ok, but they're in a joint venture with a South Korean firm, Samsung (whose Shinsegae subsidiary bought the Wal-Mart operation).
The next step, China. The Wal-Mart folks say that the proceeds from the sale of the Korean units will go towards increasing their presence in China. Only problem is that the Koreans are saying the same thing:
"As a result, E-Mart will increase the number of outlets to 102 including seven in China and will take on all 3,356 workers hired by Wal-Mart."
"With the acquisition of Wal-Mart stores, we will secure the ground for our stable business at home. This will also help us step up our operations in China," Shinsegae president Koo Hak-Seo told reporters."
Stay tuned here for updates.....as far as success in China goes, I'd put my money on the South Korean firms.
