Walmart is one of the leading grocery store chains within the United States, serving everyday essentials and extras every day across the country.
Despite this immense success in the United States, Walmart has not always seen such similar success in other countries. You may be wondering whether Walmart operates any branches within Australia. Here is what I discovered!
Is There Walmart In Australia?
Unfortunately, Walmart does not operate any stores in Australia. This is largely due to criticisms regarding Walmart’s various practices regarding employee pay, business practices, and increased competition for local stores. Because of the reasons, Walmart has no plans of opening stores in Australia.
To find out whether Walmart will ever come to Australia, how they failed to launch in other nations, plus more, keep on reading!
Will Walmart Ever Come To Australia?
Until Walmart are able to directly address the numerous criticisms that have been waged against them, they are very unlikely to be opening any new stores in Australia for the foreseeable future.
Walmart has attempted multiple times to branch into the Australian market, such as in 2018, when rumors quickly spread that Walmart were making plans to purchase the Australian chain K-Mart.
However, these rumors did not amount to anything substantial.
What Have Walmart Faced Criticism For?
Walmart has faced criticism for a large number of reasons, such as failing to provide satisfactory wages that meet the standards for the American minimum wage.
As well as this, Walmart have also faced criticism for their working conditions; that employees were not given adequate breaks, and were often forced into overtime.
Health insurance has also proven unsatisfactory for many employees.
What Countries Does Walmart Operate In?
Walmart operates in a number of countries throughout the world. These include:
- The UK, where they operate under the name of Asda. As well as this, Walmart have also opened a considerable number of mega stores in the UK that operate under the shared name of Asda/Walmart, in an attempt to spread brand recognition throughout the UK market.
- Walmart also owns and operates the massively successful Japanese chain Seiyu Group, a chain which opened its doors in 1963, and which became a full subsidiary of the Walmart company in 2008, when Walmart purchased the company.
- Walmart also operates a number of stores under their own name. These include such countries as: Canada. As well as operating more stores in other countries under different names, such as in Chile, or in South Africa.
Are There Any Stores Similar To Walmart Operating In Australia?
Although there are no Walmart branches in Australia, customers may still be looking for similarly large grocery stores.
There are a number of grocery chains in Australia that serve similar needs.
Kmart, Target, Costco, and Big W offer large grocery store experiences, but do not offer the same types of stores as Walmart, as these stores are more dedicated towards food and essential items.
Walmart Tried To Grow In Germany, But Failed
Another interesting component of Walmart growing its business is that the American style of work culture and wages are not always welcome.
As an example, Walmart opened dozens of stores in Germany in 1997 and failed miserably.
This was primarily due to such different working conditions and business practices that German law and employees could not settle for.
To learn more, you can read the full story here.
For these reasons, Australia has also blocked the introduction of Walmart as they think it would welcome a new set of work standards and pay for Aussie workers, not to mention the increased competition for local retailers.
To learn more, you may be interested in whether or not Walmart delivers to Australia.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, if you are living Down Under and wish to experience a Walmart store, no such branches are available in Australia. As of yet, there are no credible plans to open Walmart branches in Australia for the foreseeable future.
Despite this, similar stores can still be found in Australia, so large-scale grocery shopping is still within easy access!