bozama

Tescos did seem like Walmart to me. Just with a different name. That was im England,, I shopped there and got my then 7 yr old daughter a lovely (lol) package of panties with the days of the week on them,, just like they sell at Walmart!!

I think every country has some sort of big store that sells "stuff" ,, LOL

My relatives do go to them( the name Carrefour in France rings a bell) but its to buy lightbulbs, toilet paper, and tinned peas, not real dinner foods,,
They do indeed still rely heavily in shopping every day or two( in smaller towns markets are not on every day) but there is always a baker to visit each day ,, and if you saw the size of the average fridge freezer in peoples homes you'd know why( tiny by our standards, even in a family home) !! I also never saw a chest freezer ( they may exist but I never saw one and I have spent months with relatives on serveral occaisons)

PatrickLondon

In France, Carrefour, Auchan, Ed, Franprix, Monoprix.

I've certainly seen a standard supermarket in Barcelona, but in most Latin countries, I have the impression smaller family-owned shops and public markets are hanging on much more forcefully. Also, city centres, where tourists are more likely to be, tend not to have the space for large shed-type shops.

travelgourmet

I'm always amazed at the romanticism about European food shopping, from both Euros and Americans. I'm actually struck by how similar it all is. Other than having the signs in French (or Spanish), Carrefour feels pretty much like any US big box retailer. Tesco feels like most US supermarkets. There are some differences, but not to the level some are trying to claim.

On the flip side, when I lived in Boston, I was walking distance to a butcher that was the equal of any I have seen. They also had a solid produce section. So local shops are not restricted to Europe.

Oh, and flannerUKUKUK! should do a little fact-checking. Wal-Mart did, indeed, stumble in Germany, but their Chinese business is growing and they have been very successful, learning from some of the problems they saw in Germany. And they are very successful in Latin America - they are the largest private sector employer in Mexico, for instance. To claim that they have had no success outside the US is simply incorrect.

SeaUrchin

The only diffeence I see in the big box stores in Italy is that you have to pay extra for a bag to put your purchases into. Other than the words written in Italian, they are the same. The ones I have been in have a butcher on the spot and fresh local produce and they are always crowded with locals.

azzure

I will shop at Costco (glad to hear they are in the UK as well) but not at Walmart. It's a political thing. The Walmart corporation espouses too many right-wing causes, and abuses its employees (see "Nickeled and Dimed in America", by Barbara Ehrenreich.)

Dukey

Sorry but the tomatoes I grow in my back yard taste just as good, if not a lot BETTER than anything I ever bought in France so please, stop with the "it's ALWAYS better over there no matter what" routine.

nytraveler

It's not that the food in europe is better - it's that most people in the US buy food in giant supermarket chains that have produce picked and shipped half ripe - and never really gets there.

If you want good food you can get it in any large city. It requires going to the bakery for breads, butcher for meat, the fish store for fish and the greengrocer (or farm stand in warm weather) for really quality, fresh products. (Or, if you have a gourmet market, you can often get several items under one roof.) The problem is that all of this costs more than the supermarket - but it also tastes a whole lot better.

Frankly I only eat corn on the cob only when it's available locally - and you can cook it the same day it's picked. That rubbery stuff you get in most supermarkets is no better than what comes in a can.

This is why food tastes better in restaurants in europe - and decent (not expensive but quality) restaurants in the US - since they buy only what's in the market fresh that day. (And why all those chain restaurants have to offer such gigantic portions - to make up for the lack of real taste.)

bozama

Dukey, of cousre everyone knows a still warm from the sun tomatoe is the best in the wordl, they are the only ones that have aroma and taste!

kerouac

In France, the principal hypermarket chains are:

Carrefour
Auchan
E. Leclerc
Géant
Cora
Hyper-U

and a few others.

StCirq -- Mammouth disappeared years ago. Most of the stores were absorbed by Auchan.

Just for information -- Carrefour is #1 in the world in "international" sales and Wal-Mart is only #2 since more of its sales are in the U.S.

travelgourmet

<i>Just for information -- Carrefour is #1 in the world in &quot;international&quot; sales and Wal-Mart is only #2 since more of its sales are in the U.S.</i>

At the end of the day, Carrefour's revenues (and profits) are somewhere around 1/3 those of Wal-Mart. I'm all for European pride, but let's keep things in perspective. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, and they are triple the size of their nearest &quot;competitor&quot;.

Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone should shop at Wal-Mart (I don't), but all of this &quot;Wal-Mart isn't that successful&quot; talk is a load of garbage.

blackduff

kerouac
Add Intermarche your list. It's certainly ahead of some on your list.

I told someone that Carrefour was greater/better/moster of Walmart but I was found to be wrong. Carrefour is second, according my search on the internet.

I worked in TaiChung in Taiwan and this city had four stores of Carrefour. No Wallmarts at that place though.

Carrefour was plentiful in Japan too. One thing in Carrrefour is that French wines can be bought there for the same prices are here in France. They did have Camembert cheese but it was over the hill. It tasted like rubber.

Blackduff

Zeus

Nice to see the snobs weighing in with their opinions about where the Great Unwashed shop. Perhaps you'll also advise the peons whether they're allowed to vote or what kind of light bulbs they must buy.

Barb_in_Ga

Interesting responses! A question about super-(or hyper-) markets quickly became controversial.

Walmart and Costco should never be grouped together-Walmart stocks products at the lowest possible price, even if it means having a special version made for them at lower quality. I'm referring particularly to household items--coffemakers, mixers, and other items have been cheapened by the manufacturer to meet the demands of Walmart for lower prices. Their food products, too, are lower end to pinch every penny. Their stingy employee policies are well-known.

Costco, on the other hand, while offering great prices, does it on much higher quality products, both brand-name and private label. I have never bought anything at Costco that I would consider lower quality produce or goods. It has widely been reported than Costco's wage and benefits exceed the average for large retail stores, resulting in lower turnover and reduced employee theft.

I don't work for Costco, although I am in retail management. I'll shop Costco any time.

kerouac

Yes, I am not contesting the fact the Carrefour is quite small compared to Wal-Mart. I am just saying that it has greater international presence than Wal-Mart, paticularly in China, which is what matters these days.

travelgourmet

<i>I am just saying that it has greater international presence than Wal-Mart, paticularly in China, which is what matters these days.</i>

Not true. They are basically running neck and neck in China. Both have similar numbers of stores. And they are both running into pretty stiff competition from local chains.

And I question the assertion that Carrefour's international presence really is that much bigger (if at all). What happens if you take out Carrefour's home market of France? Would their ROW revenues match the roughly USD 80bn that Wal-Mart's international Ops bring in?

PatrickLondon

In short, the answer to the OP is, yes, there can be similar sorts of shops, but you'll probably want to shop around a bit and for some products may be better advised to look for a local market. As at home.

W9London

Here are actual numbers:

Wal-Mart total sales $378.8bn
int'l sales $90.6bn
(23.9% of the group)

Carrefour total sales &euro;82.1bn
int'l sales &euro;44.5bn
(54.2% of the group)

So, in absolute terms, Wal-Mart has larger presence outside of US. However, it can be rather misleading as bulk of WMT's international operations are in Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico. (1232 stores of 2757 international stores). Outside of Central America, its international operations are in only in 5 countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan and UK).

Excluding European countries, Carrefour is present in 10 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand).

In China, number of stores are 73 for Wal-Mart vs 387 for Carrefour.

Blackduff, you won't find Wal-Mart banner in Japan, but Seiyu is majority owned by Wal-Mart.

travel_buzzing

Carre-four is on las ramblas in Barcelona, its not as big as a hyper-market tho. There are very big supermarkets on the outskirts of the city, but not really worth the trek out to. Normal supermarkets are all pretty cheap, such as caparabo, dia, bonpreu.

Reisender

I strongly agree that comparing WalMart to Costco is like apples to oranges. Totally different kinds of stores and products. For someone to say that they are glad they have never shopped in a Costco is puzzling.

Jake1

Do keep in mind that both Europeans and Americans who shop for local, fresher foods pay more for the taste and quality. Some people can't afford that luxury. And some people aren't real &quot;foodies&quot; so it doesn't pay for them to pay extra for the local fresh stuff.

Of course, if we only bought local and fresh, we'd never eat bananas, oranges, pineapples, kiwi fruit, etc. Hmmmmm, come to think of it, wheat isn't local to Maryland either.