Dave’s Wagon

Wal-Mart’s big box empire is now the largest in China.

The retail giant recently moved to acquire Trust-Mart, the Taiwan-based superstore chain with some 100 or so outlets in Mainland China.

If you’re like most Americans, your reaction to this news is probably something along the lines of: “How terrible! Now the Chinese as well will suffer under the ruthless, monopolistic practices of…What?! We have a 70 billion dollar trade deficit?! What are we waiting for? Start pouring those Wal-Mart foundations! Grind those Orientals to dust beneath the advancing treads of our unbridled capitalist juggernaut!”

The exact imagery you use may differ slightly.

At any rate, I received my introduction to Trust-Mart through Hangzhou’s own local supercenter located in the shopping mall below the Yellow Dragon Stadium. If you can imagine a Wal-Mart store, only with no air conditioning, Kenny G music blaring intolerably loud (no, I don’t just mean “audibly”), and three times the number of workers on shift than is necessary, then you’ve got a general idea of what Trust-Mart is all about.

I know shopping at Wal-Mart isn’t exactly the pinnacle of the human experience, but certainly they can improve upon the chore of trudging through a sweltering department store as a dozen plasma TVs scream the same Chinese skin lotion commercial at you in unison.

Chinese Wal-Marts are unionized (O, the myriad ironies!), so hopefully Trust-Mart workers will be okay under their new masters.

Fare well, my flagrantly-overstaffed comrades.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 17th, 2006 @ 9:20 am on the category China, News, USA, Commerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Wal-Mart’s big box empire is now the largest in China.

The retail giant recently moved to acquire Trust-Mart, the Taiwan-based superstore chain with some 100 or so outlets in Mainland China.

If you’re like most Americans, your reaction to this news is probably something along the lines of: “How terrible! Now the Chinese as well will suffer under the ruthless, monopolistic practices of…What?! We have a 70 billion dollar trade deficit?! What are we waiting for? Start pouring those Wal-Mart foundations! Grind those Orientals to dust beneath the advancing treads of our unbridled capitalist juggernaut!”

The exact imagery you use may differ slightly.

At any rate, I received my introduction to Trust-Mart through Hangzhou’s own local supercenter located in the shopping mall below the Yellow Dragon Stadium. If you can imagine a Wal-Mart store, only with no air conditioning, Kenny G music blaring intolerably loud (no, I don’t just mean “audibly”), and three times the number of workers on shift than is necessary, then you’ve got a general idea of what Trust-Mart is all about.

I know shopping at Wal-Mart isn’t exactly the pinnacle of the human experience, but certainly they can improve upon the chore of trudging through a sweltering department store as a dozen plasma TVs scream the same Chinese skin lotion commercial at you in unison.

Chinese Wal-Marts are unionized (O, the myriad ironies!), so hopefully Trust-Mart workers will be okay under their new masters.

Fare well, my flagrantly-overstaffed comrades.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 17th, 2006 @ 9:20 am on the category China, News, USA, Commerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.