Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) had great plans for the Asda grocery chain in the United Kingdom when it purchased it back in 1999. It wanted to gain a strong foothold in a growing international market and start dominating the retail landscape like it had done so mercilessly in the U.S. with its grocery-laden supercenters.After almost a decade, Asda hasn't worked out as planned in terms of overall market dominance. It's still in third place behind market leaders Tesco and J. Sainsbury. Just like Wal-Mart's plans in Germany and South Korea -- which the retailer exited in 2006 -- the UK's Asda hasn't turned into what the world's largest retailer has hoped for.
So, with almost a decade under its belt in the UK, is Wal-Mart ready to pull out of there as well? Is it realistic to think it can dominated the grocery business in every foreign market it enters? Asda was prevented from buying the Safeway chain by the UK Competition Commission, which smacks of too much regulation, and probably contributed to why Wal-Mart may be think the UK a lost retail cause. After all, India and China are turning out to be much hotter markets in the last nine years anyway. Would Wal-Mart take part of Asda public, wait a little while, then sell it altogether? Don't put it past Bentonville.
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