They tried to get into Germany, but for a variety of reasons, including employment relations and workplace culture, as well as a $3 billion loss, they ended up pulling out after less than 10 years.
I remember seeing videos of everyone being made to sing "We are, we are Walmart!" to the tune of *We will rock you* during morning meetings in the US. Did they try that in Germany as well? Can just imagine how that would go down...
I saw a doku or something akin to it on why they failed in Germany and I'm pretty sure they tried to copy paste their model from the US into Germany without adapting it to the market and preparing themselves to understand the culture and everything.
As far as I remember they did try to have enployees do the same they did in the US.
They also had an American come from the US to manage it all instead of hiring at least one German to give them insider perspective of what works or not.
It appears that they were highly arrogant and thought the America way was **the way** until it bit them in the arse.
They not only didn't adapt to German culture, but also not to German employment law. Walmart failed massively and very publicly in German courts, especially regarding employees rights. If I remember correctly, their most public fail wad with their employee guidelines that forbid relationships between staff members. That shit crashed hard.
They hired all of the employees as part-time, so they didn't have to pay for healthcare, like in the US. But as we have UNIVERSAL healthcare, they had to provide and pay a lot more people. Just full-time employees would have been much cheaper. They really didn't research any legal stuff and got backhanded hard.
Probably as well. If us not uncommon that Americans take over a German company and fail to recognise the legal protection unions have over here. But I do t remember if they were an issue with Walmart as well, as there was other stuff mich more public that was a general nogo, where you don't need unions to make headlines.
Many employees complained about this at the time, as they felt the morning chant was cultist and the posters indoctrinating. And of course it went to court because of the rules of conduct (including no relationships with colleagues) and spying on colleagues, which didn't really go down well a few years after the fall of the GDR and the Stasi surveillance apparatus.
We Germans are not as keen to strike as the French... but we have strong trade unions and take legal action against anything that is suspicious \^\^
To my knowledge, yes. And they enforced American greeting and bag packing culture. Now, that is not a negative in itself, but it really didn't work in the German market at that time. Ultimately, their endboss were German labour laws.
Yes, I remember that. I was shopping at Walmart (the first and last time back then) and someone wanted to pack my things. But not the way I wanted (effectively), but the person stuffed them into the bags as the goods came off the scanner. In the end there was a bit of a scuffle and a lot of shouting.
I have never had anyone pack my bags and I don't think I'd like that either. I have a system and specific things go in specific bags sorted by type and in the order I put them away when I get home.
I love scan and shop so we don't need checkouts anymore. It suits my shopping style perfectly.
No, that contributed but their end boss was a very competitive discounter market in Germany that has been insanely more combative than the mom-and-pop shops that Walmart used to easily outcompete out of existence in the States.
Basically Walmart brought a knife to a tank battle, with expected results, and the labour laws just added insult to injury.
If somebody over here would literally greet me when I try to go into a fucking grocery store, I'd just turn around and leave. I don't expect more human interaction than necessary, saying hello to the cashier, "no receipt" and saying bye.
Well yes, they got everything you need, but are small so you are done quickly. They save money at the right places. They are cheap but have great food quality. The definition of german efficiency...
First Aldi opened in 1977 in Denmark. Afaik Rema kinda copy&pasted the concept and became the biggest rival. So big in fact, that Aldi had issues with growth (Denmark is relatively small). So they decided to sell most of their stores to Rema
No. Lidl got a lot of external and rather expensive brands and invest more in the shops.
They have been more successful with this in the last decade and are a real empire now (schwarz group with kaufland and a rather big it service venture!). Aldi changed their strategy to mimic them.
I think Denmark was Aldi Nord. There's a difference between Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord. They are each controlled by one faction of the Albrecht family. They, however, share their logistics and suppliers.
German efficiency my friend. I was in an Aldi in RI once, was quite offended that i couldn't just take a water out of a Sixpack... They should adapt all german rules. My ex didnt see me do it, for me its the most normal thing in the world...
The person at the register was quite suprised and my ex and her fam thought it was very funny.
Thank you for the lesson. I don’t know why I thought they were from UK. Fun fact: Aldi is called Hofer where I’m from. Don’t know why but it’s the same otherwise. Down to the logo
As a kid I remember watching that episode of the Simpsons when Mr Burns retires and the power plant gets taken over by a German company. I didn’t get it at the time, but now I have a German sister in law I appreciate that episode on a whole new level.
There is a big difference between buying an already existing and successful brand and expanding their existing shitty brand into new territories.
Asda stagnated under their ownership and lost market share to literally everyone, and they didn’t even really try to change anything. All Walmart know how to do is dig to the bottom of the barrel and then keep digging.
ASDA already was pretty much Walmart before they got bought over. ASDA had tried hard in the 80s to be Sainsburys/waitrose and failed spectacularly. In a last ditch move they sent a team to the US to see what was working for the various chains over there and came across Walmart. They then copied everything from Walmart that they thought they could get away with the UK which worked and got them back into the top 3 and pretty much killed Safeways in the UK.
Post buyout the only noticeable day to day change was the updated IT system. There were wild tales of some of the more distinctly American "go team!" Cheering and chanting stuff being inflicted on folk at ASDA house but it never made it to the stores.
Took me a while to realize you were talking about the supermarket chain and not the country of Iceland. Imagine flying all the way over there for groceries, lol.
Someone else’s try that and found was cheaper too… [Lads fly to Poland for a Lidl food shop to prove it's cheaper than UK - even with flight.](https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/lads-fly-poland-lidl-food-31369465.amp)
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I had always been under the impression that Iceland was one of the value supermarkets, but I recently moved and it’s now my local. Went in and was shocked at how expensive stuff is (like more expensive than the equivalent in Morrisons). So seemingly… it’s one of the shittier ones, but it’s not even comparatively low cost either?
Iceland was a value supermarket before the value supermarkets arrived. I have no idea how it's survived - I mean how long does "it used to be cheaper in the 80s" really last?
Their frozen stuff is still cheap as it's their thing. Nowhere else can you get an entire frozen ready meal for £1. But other than that I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I recently bought some apple juice and only realised later it was apple juice drink and it just tasted of a sickly sweetener
I thought this may be the case. That’s probably where I was going wrong then. My freezer is minuscule so frozen stuff is always minimal in my shopping basket.
Also, fuck “juice drinks” masquerading as real juice.
I don't have a local Iceland but the only one I've been in was super low cost. But it was in a shitty northern town with high unemployment so maybe they adjust their stores' range according to the local environment.
Yes, badly laid out and poor lighting. I have been there to mainly buy preemie sized baby clothes (none in Tesco or Sainsbury near me and couldn't wait for delivery) and junior paluszki as nowhere else seems to sell it and my children are obsessed with it.
I believe they owned Asda in the UK for a while. One of the Asda stores in Swindon got rebranded as Walmart at that time. Other than the change in signage inside and out, it wasn't any different from the other Asda in town.
Having been to a Walmart it's a horrendous experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. It'd no surprise Europeans in general would prefer the current options available.
They bought ASDA in the UK and ended up selling most of their stake in the end. They had the good sense not to mess with it too much.
If they ever tried to go head to head against Sainsbury’s or Tesco by trying to replicate their US model, they would get their backsides profoundly handed to them. British supermarkets are basically the apex predators of the retail world and they are profoundly slick at how they organise their operation.
They bought Asda when it was most successful, and then sold it after taking all of the profits and investing nothing back in. Basically ran it into the ground.
They owned Asda (UK) from 1999 to 2021, selling majority ownership (but retaining company equity and a seat on board) after failing to expand in Europe.
They did well with Asda though by all accounts.
To be fair I visited a Walmart in Texas of all places, simply to admire the spectacle. I saw no blobs on electric scooters, no guns, nobody shitting on the potatoes. Extremely disappointing.
Whilst I admit it did have more of a selection than my local cornershop, it in no way out did the excitement of a big Tesco.
Don't left out the "Main characters"
They will mess with your stuff while they laugh like braindead. Until you defend yourself and they go "it's a praaaaankk brooo" "i willll sueeee youu!! " I have 4000 followers respect meeee!"
With what looks like a Tesco Express (or possibly a Tesco Metro if they're still a thing) visible to the left of the shot, in case you thought the TikTok(?) it came from was some rich hipster visiting a posh butcher and an artisan bakery and pretending this is how English people buy their groceries.
The ideas that built the modern world mostly came from the UK. Unfortunately, some of the notes around city planning and architecture were lost somewhere in the Atlantic.
He couldn't create it due to the cost involved to make the precision parts he needed in that era, there's a working version in the Science Museum in London that was built using his plans
This could be contested.
Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a machine that allowed for complex patterns to be produced on a loom using a series on punch cards.
This allowed automated textile design and was part of the inspiration for the Babbage Analytical Engine.
You've gotten confused here.
Jacquard invented a machine that can create patterns, designs and even pictures on a loom, this operated via a punch card system. This could be deemed a 'programme' as it is an automated set of instructions to create the textile.
This machine was an influence of the Analytical Engine created by Babbage as it was created before Babbage created his Analytical Engine and even before his differential engine.
I'm not saying Jacquard created the first programme for the analytical engine, but he created what could be deemed a programme for a different machine before the analytical engine's invention.
According to chatGPT:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Belgium (in German-speaking regions), Parts of Italy (in German-speaking South Tyrol), Parts of Eastern Europe with German-speaking populations.
Apparently they're called '66-99' or 'German-style' quotation marks.
>Meanwhile Aldi succeeding in the us with 2 big stores.
Aldi South runs more than 2000 Stores in the US
Aldi North runs more than 500 Stores in the US... under the brand "Trader Joe's"
So a bit more than just 2 big stores ;)
It just doesn't have that element of surprise. Yes I went out to get some eggs and I have the eggs but also two pairs of socks and a chainsaw. That's Aldi.
I’ve been to a few Walmarts on US trips… they’re *bigger*, I’ll give them that. This was in Texas, where they also have H-E-B, which was more interesting.
Yeah I was going to say I think Asda is owned by Walmart but I wasn’t sure if that was still the case or not. Having said that, Walmart is just a big supermarket, it’s not altogether completely different from an asda or tesco or whatever.
There was an independent Japanese study that indicated quite strongly that between 40-50% of inventions and innovations that affect the modern world came from the UK.
So at best that's half. Half of everything you do in modern life is because of the UK. (Sorry).
Japan wasn't ashamed to admit it at all. They took the knowledge and built better while crediting the innovators.
For fuxache… I can’t believe that in this day and age someone would get snipey about a giant hyper mega supermarket. They’re absolutely horrid. 100% artificial light with aisle, after aisle, of shit you don’t really want or need staffed by miserable bastards who are the retail equivalent of stormtroopers. These places are so mega big with car parks the size of small towns. They take ages to drive to because traffic surrounding them is so shitty… and you have to do a mission briefing before going in ‘(now kids, no squabbling and I’ll get you a treat’) and THEN you need a therapy counselling session for PTSD when leaving.
I have not been inside a supermarket since the pandemic hit and every supermarket started squabbling for my online orders.
I do an online shop once a month and then shop in my local co-op daily and independent deli the rest of the time.
I’m always greeted by Susan or Joyce with a smile and a ‘how’s your mum?’ … they’re like the retail equivalent of frickin Jedi nights in comparison to the hollow eyed teen in Asda.
The cultural difference speaks volumes to me. I know that some people in the U.K. welcome American style shopping but to me their like the collaborators turning a blind eye to the clone wars… *shudder*
Aaaaaand…. They’re so brainwashed that they genuinely feel their model of ultra processed grot is actually superior!
I've been to the USA once and visited a few walmarts. They are a sight to behold, for sure! They are incredibly huge, isles are so wide you can lie down in them sideways and people can still pass, they have everything (really weird to see clothes, food, toys, Halloween decorations and guns, back to back) and they are open 24/7.
It's also huge and cold (not the temperature, but the ambiance) and full of weird, obnoxious people, including the staff that greats you at the door (wth is that?!) or cashiers with tired legs and fake smiles bagging your groceries. It was great to see a few times as a tourist, but I can't imagine having to do my regular shopping there.
Morrisons and then booths reign surpreme when it comes to supermarkets. Nothing can touch the quality of Morrisons. However Morrisons was recently sold to a US private equity firm so I expect it to not be around for many more decades.
Oh FFS seriously? So that's why a small local shop got taken over as a "Morrisons daily" (at, no joke, 3x the prices they charge in the big store) and the big store got gutted of half it's stock...
Well… they’re not wrong. It’s sooo hard to find a decent fine art gallery that sells guns and shit.
On the plus side, I’ll bet you can get a decent pint at the pub next door to drown one’s sorrows.
You have to have the Gold MyWaitrose card to unlock that section of the store and the real story about [insert minority here].
Someone help me finish this joke in a way that's both funny and not offensive?
Look, Walmart is great when you're like, "I'm going shopping and I've got 3 hours to burn and this wild variety of shit to buy".
But when you're like, "I need a few eggs and some milk" or, "I need to do half a week's grocery shopping in 30 minutes", Walmart absolutely fucking sucks.
In a normal European shop, you can park the car, get into the shop, buy your stuff and be back in your car in 3 minutes.
In Walmart, it takes five minutes just to walk from the car to the back of the store. Every trip is a 30 minute minimum, even if you only need one or two things.
I think the big reason we don't have mega big box stores here is our towns are quite old and walkable we don't have to drive to the middle of fuck all nowhere to buy food we can just walk to the supermarket and buy food then walk home
What do you mean? The UK has tons of huge out-of-town supermarkets everywhere, most pretty villages like this have one within easy driving distance. That's one of the dumb things about the American's take in this post, since in many ways the UK has become *more* like the US in this respect; over the past couple of decades we have increasingly shopped more in big out-of-town stores you have to drive to.
It's no difference to TESCO or ASDA, in fact ASDA and Walmart were once part of the same company. as a dual/tri citizen of both the UK/US and also Ireland they are all pretty much the Same. the UK food quality is better though and has more European focused food/cheese/wines etc...obviously as it's closer to other European countries
I did a roadtrip around the North East of the US/Canada in the summer just gone and Walmart is one of the weirdest places I went to. 3/4's of the shop was the equivalent of a shit B&M and the smallest part was like a shit version of Netto.
Hasn't Walmart tried to break into the European Market a few times....and run for the hills after getting their fingers burnt,
They tried to get into Germany, but for a variety of reasons, including employment relations and workplace culture, as well as a $3 billion loss, they ended up pulling out after less than 10 years.
I remember seeing videos of everyone being made to sing "We are, we are Walmart!" to the tune of *We will rock you* during morning meetings in the US. Did they try that in Germany as well? Can just imagine how that would go down...
I saw a doku or something akin to it on why they failed in Germany and I'm pretty sure they tried to copy paste their model from the US into Germany without adapting it to the market and preparing themselves to understand the culture and everything. As far as I remember they did try to have enployees do the same they did in the US. They also had an American come from the US to manage it all instead of hiring at least one German to give them insider perspective of what works or not. It appears that they were highly arrogant and thought the America way was **the way** until it bit them in the arse.
They not only didn't adapt to German culture, but also not to German employment law. Walmart failed massively and very publicly in German courts, especially regarding employees rights. If I remember correctly, their most public fail wad with their employee guidelines that forbid relationships between staff members. That shit crashed hard.
I'd have assumed it would have been their anti-union rhetoric that would have fucked them in Germany.
They hired all of the employees as part-time, so they didn't have to pay for healthcare, like in the US. But as we have UNIVERSAL healthcare, they had to provide and pay a lot more people. Just full-time employees would have been much cheaper. They really didn't research any legal stuff and got backhanded hard.
Probably as well. If us not uncommon that Americans take over a German company and fail to recognise the legal protection unions have over here. But I do t remember if they were an issue with Walmart as well, as there was other stuff mich more public that was a general nogo, where you don't need unions to make headlines.
I can just imagine all the motivational posters plastered all over the breakroom walls
Many employees complained about this at the time, as they felt the morning chant was cultist and the posters indoctrinating. And of course it went to court because of the rules of conduct (including no relationships with colleagues) and spying on colleagues, which didn't really go down well a few years after the fall of the GDR and the Stasi surveillance apparatus. We Germans are not as keen to strike as the French... but we have strong trade unions and take legal action against anything that is suspicious \^\^
To my knowledge, yes. And they enforced American greeting and bag packing culture. Now, that is not a negative in itself, but it really didn't work in the German market at that time. Ultimately, their endboss were German labour laws.
Yes, I remember that. I was shopping at Walmart (the first and last time back then) and someone wanted to pack my things. But not the way I wanted (effectively), but the person stuffed them into the bags as the goods came off the scanner. In the end there was a bit of a scuffle and a lot of shouting.
I have never had anyone pack my bags and I don't think I'd like that either. I have a system and specific things go in specific bags sorted by type and in the order I put them away when I get home. I love scan and shop so we don't need checkouts anymore. It suits my shopping style perfectly.
No, that contributed but their end boss was a very competitive discounter market in Germany that has been insanely more combative than the mom-and-pop shops that Walmart used to easily outcompete out of existence in the States. Basically Walmart brought a knife to a tank battle, with expected results, and the labour laws just added insult to injury.
Good point. Other countries didn't use to have LIDL, Aldi, Plus or an equivalent. "Hausmarken" are not a thing in a lot of countries either.
Their endboss was mismanagement, labor laws were just a weapon.
I am guessing near fanatical indoctrination possibly does not go over very well in Germany.
Not any more.....they have learned from their past...🤭
I think they did try that. Also tried to ban dating coworkers. Tried having greeters but thats just fucking creepy. And had to pay real wages.
If somebody over here would literally greet me when I try to go into a fucking grocery store, I'd just turn around and leave. I don't expect more human interaction than necessary, saying hello to the cashier, "no receipt" and saying bye.
I don't even like that much. Self checkouts are amazing.
I remember reading they had a greeter at the front of each store and the German customers absolutely did not like or get it lmao
And now see how Lidl/Aldi conquer the world (: German shopping is superior 🇩🇪
They are pretty awesome tbh
Well yes, they got everything you need, but are small so you are done quickly. They save money at the right places. They are cheap but have great food quality. The definition of german efficiency...
Aldi failed in Denmark somehow. We still have lidl tho
Weird... They are almost the same... Or is Lidl also about to fail?
Lidl seems to be doing fine. But Aldi shut down last year. Many of their stores sold to rema 1000 a Norwegian chain.
First Aldi opened in 1977 in Denmark. Afaik Rema kinda copy&pasted the concept and became the biggest rival. So big in fact, that Aldi had issues with growth (Denmark is relatively small). So they decided to sell most of their stores to Rema
No. Lidl got a lot of external and rather expensive brands and invest more in the shops. They have been more successful with this in the last decade and are a real empire now (schwarz group with kaufland and a rather big it service venture!). Aldi changed their strategy to mimic them.
I think Denmark was Aldi Nord. There's a difference between Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord. They are each controlled by one faction of the Albrecht family. They, however, share their logistics and suppliers.
They're giving Walmart a run for its money here in the US as well, and somehow manage to have lower prices than Walmart.
German efficiency my friend. I was in an Aldi in RI once, was quite offended that i couldn't just take a water out of a Sixpack... They should adapt all german rules. My ex didnt see me do it, for me its the most normal thing in the world... The person at the register was quite suprised and my ex and her fam thought it was very funny.
Yeah we do it in Sweden as well
Dann geh doch zu Netto!
Erstmal zu Penny.
Are they not from UK?
no, both german
Thank you for the lesson. I don’t know why I thought they were from UK. Fun fact: Aldi is called Hofer where I’m from. Don’t know why but it’s the same otherwise. Down to the logo
Idk, Aldi is also devided in Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd
And they have the inly tolerable commercials here. Btw thanks for being a cool guy and thinking i was trying to start something. Was genuinely asking
Ofc, nobody knows everything. Mistakes are human
As a kid I remember watching that episode of the Simpsons when Mr Burns retires and the power plant gets taken over by a German company. I didn’t get it at the time, but now I have a German sister in law I appreciate that episode on a whole new level.
"You win but be aware: We germans aren't all smiles and sunshine"
Mmmm. Land of Chocolate…
In the UK ASDA is owned by Walmart, (I think) its one of the big supermarket brands
They owned the Asda supermarket chain in the UK for over 20 years until 2023
There is a big difference between buying an already existing and successful brand and expanding their existing shitty brand into new territories. Asda stagnated under their ownership and lost market share to literally everyone, and they didn’t even really try to change anything. All Walmart know how to do is dig to the bottom of the barrel and then keep digging.
ASDA already was pretty much Walmart before they got bought over. ASDA had tried hard in the 80s to be Sainsburys/waitrose and failed spectacularly. In a last ditch move they sent a team to the US to see what was working for the various chains over there and came across Walmart. They then copied everything from Walmart that they thought they could get away with the UK which worked and got them back into the top 3 and pretty much killed Safeways in the UK. Post buyout the only noticeable day to day change was the updated IT system. There were wild tales of some of the more distinctly American "go team!" Cheering and chanting stuff being inflicted on folk at ASDA house but it never made it to the stores.
Well the new owners seem to be trying to cut as much costs as possible and I can see it taking a nosedive long term
The new owners are running it into the ground
Oh wow..... Didn't know they'd sold Asda. Reddit keeping me updated again lol.
They were basically in third place for market share (behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s) for most of that time, too…
Yes and Asda is easily the shittest supermarket in the UK.
Not sure… we have Iceland as well…
Is that why mums go there?
Took me a while to realize you were talking about the supermarket chain and not the country of Iceland. Imagine flying all the way over there for groceries, lol.
Someone else’s try that and found was cheaper too… [Lads fly to Poland for a Lidl food shop to prove it's cheaper than UK - even with flight.](https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/lads-fly-poland-lidl-food-31369465.amp)
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I had always been under the impression that Iceland was one of the value supermarkets, but I recently moved and it’s now my local. Went in and was shocked at how expensive stuff is (like more expensive than the equivalent in Morrisons). So seemingly… it’s one of the shittier ones, but it’s not even comparatively low cost either?
Iceland was a value supermarket before the value supermarkets arrived. I have no idea how it's survived - I mean how long does "it used to be cheaper in the 80s" really last?
They survive on either chonkers buying the Slimming World line or the Greggs line
Their frozen stuff is still cheap as it's their thing. Nowhere else can you get an entire frozen ready meal for £1. But other than that I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I recently bought some apple juice and only realised later it was apple juice drink and it just tasted of a sickly sweetener
I thought this may be the case. That’s probably where I was going wrong then. My freezer is minuscule so frozen stuff is always minimal in my shopping basket. Also, fuck “juice drinks” masquerading as real juice.
I don't have a local Iceland but the only one I've been in was super low cost. But it was in a shitty northern town with high unemployment so maybe they adjust their stores' range according to the local environment.
The one I go to is in London and it is very low cost. So not sure why they are saying it's expensive.
Yes, badly laid out and poor lighting. I have been there to mainly buy preemie sized baby clothes (none in Tesco or Sainsbury near me and couldn't wait for delivery) and junior paluszki as nowhere else seems to sell it and my children are obsessed with it.
Yep. It wasn't before Walmart took it over though. They used to have some lovely products like their custardy yoghurts.
I believe they owned Asda in the UK for a while. One of the Asda stores in Swindon got rebranded as Walmart at that time. Other than the change in signage inside and out, it wasn't any different from the other Asda in town.
They did. Sold it off fairly recently - like 2018 or so.
Having been to a Walmart it's a horrendous experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. It'd no surprise Europeans in general would prefer the current options available.
They bought one of the biggest chains in the U.K. and ended up selling
They bought ASDA in the UK and ended up selling most of their stake in the end. They had the good sense not to mess with it too much. If they ever tried to go head to head against Sainsbury’s or Tesco by trying to replicate their US model, they would get their backsides profoundly handed to them. British supermarkets are basically the apex predators of the retail world and they are profoundly slick at how they organise their operation.
They bought Asda when it was most successful, and then sold it after taking all of the profits and investing nothing back in. Basically ran it into the ground.
We’re clearly not good enough… /s
Walmart seems to be doing very well in China, though from what I've seen on YouTube, Chinese Walmarts are quite different from the ones in the US.
They owned Asda (UK) from 1999 to 2021, selling majority ownership (but retaining company equity and a seat on board) after failing to expand in Europe. They did well with Asda though by all accounts.
They own shares in various European retailers.
Asda was bought by Walmart
Walmart bought out Asda in the uk
Yeah man, I love getting bowled over by fatties on a scooty puff junior at a Walmart. or so I'm led to believe.
To be fair I visited a Walmart in Texas of all places, simply to admire the spectacle. I saw no blobs on electric scooters, no guns, nobody shitting on the potatoes. Extremely disappointing. Whilst I admit it did have more of a selection than my local cornershop, it in no way out did the excitement of a big Tesco.
Plenty of spectacles here! https://www.peopleofwalmart.com/
I really enjoyed that, thanks for the link :) USAbomination
The guns are in the sports section.
Oh I thought they would've been in the "Back to school" section.
have definitely seen guns at Walmart! Not just any guns...pink camo guns! It was quite the sight!
A real fatty rides a Scott puff sr.
In a thousand years, I’ll get right on it.
r/unexpectedfuturama
Scooty puff juniors suuuuuuuck
Good news everybody!
Don't left out the "Main characters" They will mess with your stuff while they laugh like braindead. Until you defend yourself and they go "it's a praaaaankk brooo" "i willll sueeee youu!! " I have 4000 followers respect meeee!"
I mean, where do Brits even get their walls then?
Barry's Olde Wall Shoppe
We inherited them from the Romans.
Other than the walls... what have the Romans ever done for us?
Tesco
Hadrian built them.
Second photo is of Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds. A pretty village which most Wal-Mart shoppers only visit on holiday
Brave of you to assume Wal-Mart shoppers go on a holiday to the UK
Even braver to assume any would venture outside central London.
Braver still to assume they leave their home state
It takes courage to assume they leave their county
Why go to old England when we have New England
With what looks like a Tesco Express (or possibly a Tesco Metro if they're still a thing) visible to the left of the shot, in case you thought the TikTok(?) it came from was some rich hipster visiting a posh butcher and an artisan bakery and pretending this is how English people buy their groceries.
Okay thanks was wondering why they did their food shop at Clarendon Fine Art
It's a Co-op
It's also insanely expensive, like all of the Cotswolds, because it's so pretty
Stow-on-the-wold has a Tesco supermarket too. Used to buy my lunch there when I was driving to Swindon.
Always surreal seeing local familiar places on random reddits
Yeah but they call it "Cotswold" and only drive past in for 10 minutes in a Mercedes.
I doubt most Walmart shoppers could even fit in a plane seat to go there
Ahahahahahahaha Wallmart is fucking SHIT mate
Sooo what about computers?? Like Alan Turning was from UK and he is called „the father of the computers”
Sir Tim Berners-Lee too
For those not in the know, Tim created the WWW.
The ideas that built the modern world mostly came from the UK. Unfortunately, some of the notes around city planning and architecture were lost somewhere in the Atlantic.
Along with half the vowels, apparently.
Charles Babbage invented the concept of the computer in the early 19th century, though he was unable to create a working model.
He couldn't create it due to the cost involved to make the precision parts he needed in that era, there's a working version in the Science Museum in London that was built using his plans
Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer programme too
But ‘Murica had Linda Lovelace!
This could be contested. Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a machine that allowed for complex patterns to be produced on a loom using a series on punch cards. This allowed automated textile design and was part of the inspiration for the Babbage Analytical Engine.
Wouldn't Babbage himself be the first one to write a program, since he designed the thing?
You've gotten confused here. Jacquard invented a machine that can create patterns, designs and even pictures on a loom, this operated via a punch card system. This could be deemed a 'programme' as it is an automated set of instructions to create the textile. This machine was an influence of the Analytical Engine created by Babbage as it was created before Babbage created his Analytical Engine and even before his differential engine. I'm not saying Jacquard created the first programme for the analytical engine, but he created what could be deemed a programme for a different machine before the analytical engine's invention.
An aside question. I see a lot of people on here who do these ,,Quotation marks". Where is that from? In English it is "this". Just curious, thanks.
According to chatGPT: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Belgium (in German-speaking regions), Parts of Italy (in German-speaking South Tyrol), Parts of Eastern Europe with German-speaking populations. Apparently they're called '66-99' or 'German-style' quotation marks.
Ah okay, thanks.
No worries :) TIL as well, so :P
Thats how i was teach in the school to use that symbols (im from Poland)
The UK invented murica 🤷♂️
And without the french the Americans would still speaking english... I mean, His Majesty's English \^\^
For which we shall forever hang our heads in shame.
Every country has its mistakes...
When you're as old as England is, it'd be more surprising that there weren't more unfortunate accidents.
Didn't the UK "invent" the US...? Blasted fucking brits
Sorry about that. They’ve been whiney dickheads since they ‘flew the nest’… and still blame their parents for an awful lot.
Like any pubescent child everything that is wrong in the world is because of their parents 🙄
I remember walmart failing in germany. Meanwhile Aldi succeeding in the us with 2 big stores.
>Meanwhile Aldi succeeding in the us with 2 big stores. Aldi South runs more than 2000 Stores in the US Aldi North runs more than 500 Stores in the US... under the brand "Trader Joe's" So a bit more than just 2 big stores ;)
Trader Joe's isn't just an Aldi renamed though. It's a preexisting grocery store that was bought by the CEO of Aldi.
2 stores as in Aldi South and Aldi North, not physically 2 buildings
Aldi and Trader Joes are 2 stores
In Germany, Aldi are also 2 Stores...
We had walmart for a few years in germany and it sucked.
It just doesn't have that element of surprise. Yes I went out to get some eggs and I have the eggs but also two pairs of socks and a chainsaw. That's Aldi.
So why wallmart fail in Germany ? Oh yes due to stupid American rules like : no siting Forced fakest smile Put your grocery in your bag .
Penicillin? TV? The bicycle? Tamac? Radar? Pencils? ARM? Stainless Steel? Law of Gravity?
I’ve been to a few Walmarts on US trips… they’re *bigger*, I’ll give them that. This was in Texas, where they also have H-E-B, which was more interesting.
well, it seems that for them things being big is all that matters anyway
Walmart or free health care? It’s a tough one 🤔
In Germany, we had both for a few years... then Walmart left the country \^\^
Ahh, Walmart America's monument to their thinly veiled distain for the aesthetically pleasing.
Better than *anything* the UK has invented? Are they sure about that?
I mean, it's true, you can't really buy a rifle in Tescos. Now, whether that's a bad thing...
He doesn't know Walmart owned asda and then sold it. However asda still literally gets it's supply from Walmart still for some things
Yeah I was going to say I think Asda is owned by Walmart but I wasn’t sure if that was still the case or not. Having said that, Walmart is just a big supermarket, it’s not altogether completely different from an asda or tesco or whatever.
So good they couldn’t make it in Germany with their unconstitutional HR policies etc. It’s a hilarious story.
Imagine complaining about living in a place with so beautiful buildings
The spirit of America is soulless consumerism.
There was an independent Japanese study that indicated quite strongly that between 40-50% of inventions and innovations that affect the modern world came from the UK. So at best that's half. Half of everything you do in modern life is because of the UK. (Sorry). Japan wasn't ashamed to admit it at all. They took the knowledge and built better while crediting the innovators.
For fuxache… I can’t believe that in this day and age someone would get snipey about a giant hyper mega supermarket. They’re absolutely horrid. 100% artificial light with aisle, after aisle, of shit you don’t really want or need staffed by miserable bastards who are the retail equivalent of stormtroopers. These places are so mega big with car parks the size of small towns. They take ages to drive to because traffic surrounding them is so shitty… and you have to do a mission briefing before going in ‘(now kids, no squabbling and I’ll get you a treat’) and THEN you need a therapy counselling session for PTSD when leaving. I have not been inside a supermarket since the pandemic hit and every supermarket started squabbling for my online orders. I do an online shop once a month and then shop in my local co-op daily and independent deli the rest of the time. I’m always greeted by Susan or Joyce with a smile and a ‘how’s your mum?’ … they’re like the retail equivalent of frickin Jedi nights in comparison to the hollow eyed teen in Asda. The cultural difference speaks volumes to me. I know that some people in the U.K. welcome American style shopping but to me their like the collaborators turning a blind eye to the clone wars… *shudder* Aaaaaand…. They’re so brainwashed that they genuinely feel their model of ultra processed grot is actually superior!
I've been to the USA once and visited a few walmarts. They are a sight to behold, for sure! They are incredibly huge, isles are so wide you can lie down in them sideways and people can still pass, they have everything (really weird to see clothes, food, toys, Halloween decorations and guns, back to back) and they are open 24/7. It's also huge and cold (not the temperature, but the ambiance) and full of weird, obnoxious people, including the staff that greats you at the door (wth is that?!) or cashiers with tired legs and fake smiles bagging your groceries. It was great to see a few times as a tourist, but I can't imagine having to do my regular shopping there.
Morrisons and then booths reign surpreme when it comes to supermarkets. Nothing can touch the quality of Morrisons. However Morrisons was recently sold to a US private equity firm so I expect it to not be around for many more decades.
Ah - that explains the issues that my local store has been having
Oh FFS seriously? So that's why a small local shop got taken over as a "Morrisons daily" (at, no joke, 3x the prices they charge in the big store) and the big store got gutted of half it's stock...
Is that why Walmart never made it in Europe?
Walmart? Jesus, talk about low standards.
Walmart > jet engines and computers confirmed
well the UK kind of invented america soo......
Those morons keep popping out
Well… they’re not wrong. It’s sooo hard to find a decent fine art gallery that sells guns and shit. On the plus side, I’ll bet you can get a decent pint at the pub next door to drown one’s sorrows.
In their defence, Waitrose doesn't sell firearms as far as I am aware.
You have to have the Gold MyWaitrose card to unlock that section of the store and the real story about [insert minority here]. Someone help me finish this joke in a way that's both funny and not offensive?
*people who shop at the range
So basically a shitty overran fat store is better than trains, something the UK invented and the US used
Wasn't it UK citizens who went on to "invent" the USA?
Look, Walmart is great when you're like, "I'm going shopping and I've got 3 hours to burn and this wild variety of shit to buy". But when you're like, "I need a few eggs and some milk" or, "I need to do half a week's grocery shopping in 30 minutes", Walmart absolutely fucking sucks. In a normal European shop, you can park the car, get into the shop, buy your stuff and be back in your car in 3 minutes. In Walmart, it takes five minutes just to walk from the car to the back of the store. Every trip is a 30 minute minimum, even if you only need one or two things.
Uk Asda is pulling away from Walmart cos it’s shite
The irony is with that statement, is that the Internet was a British invention.
That's some insane cousin-fucking logic right there.
Bless. Somebody get this person to a Booths.
That man has never had a Morrisons salad
Being American, he’s probably never had a salad.
I think the big reason we don't have mega big box stores here is our towns are quite old and walkable we don't have to drive to the middle of fuck all nowhere to buy food we can just walk to the supermarket and buy food then walk home
We do have big box stores, and a lot of high streets are unfortunately failing due to predatory landlords
Not the only place though still got some smaller shops run by the big supermarkets
What do you mean? The UK has tons of huge out-of-town supermarkets everywhere, most pretty villages like this have one within easy driving distance. That's one of the dumb things about the American's take in this post, since in many ways the UK has become *more* like the US in this respect; over the past couple of decades we have increasingly shopped more in big out-of-town stores you have to drive to.
The UK has many retail parks (strip malls)
A yes the lifeless hipermarket surrounded by a sea of parking lots big enough to equal a 10k population city center
It's no difference to TESCO or ASDA, in fact ASDA and Walmart were once part of the same company. as a dual/tri citizen of both the UK/US and also Ireland they are all pretty much the Same. the UK food quality is better though and has more European focused food/cheese/wines etc...obviously as it's closer to other European countries
I did a roadtrip around the North East of the US/Canada in the summer just gone and Walmart is one of the weirdest places I went to. 3/4's of the shop was the equivalent of a shit B&M and the smallest part was like a shit version of Netto.
Probably can’t comprehend the idea of walking to a selection of locally owned shops rather than driving into a concrete hell.
I know Americans are scared of products with less than 20 ingredients, but c’mon!
Anyone tell the Jockel that Walmart crashed and burned with 3 billions in losses in Europes biggest market.
Has this person not heard of Sainsburys,Morisons,Tesco,Asda,Aldi or Lidl?
Walmart is shit. They sell overpriced shit. People in Mexico are returning to old trustworthy community markets.
How close is he to an ASDA?
Guess he didn't know and plenty here have forgotten that for about twenty years Walmart owned ASDA 😅