When we lived in Germany, Wal-Mart purchased a big box Germany-based chain, Wertkauf, as it established itself in the most prosperous Western European country. I was always impressed with how German merchants. large and small, operated, and wasn't especially surprised that the Germany experiment for Wal-Mart went sideways in a very few years and they walked away from the market.
It's not like Germany didn't have American operations. My wife and I went to the first McDonald's that opened, in Stuttgart, and I stood behind a German who ordered a 'kaseburger aber ohne kase' along with a beer (something stateside Mickey D's to this day should consider)
Germany also had Wendy, NOT Wendy's (no idea why) and I always smiled when I saw a Pizza Hut restaurant because Auf Deutsch, hut is a hat and the visual cracked me up.
As a nation we're kind of convinced we have all the best stuff and that we're the envy of the world because of that. And that's as may be except, in this case, it's as may not be. And that's just science; well, sort of.
-bill kenny
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