date:Feb 24, 2014
better serves local customers' preference for smaller convenience stores. GPA also appealed to Brazilians' desire for special deals with limited duration, heavily advertised promotions.
The big box store model has been a costly mistake in terms of real estate losses for Wal-Mart, said Stephen Springham, senior retail analyst at Planet Retail in London. As more Chinese opt to shop online, the U.S. firm acquired web retailer Yihaodian in 2012, which claimed 24 million online users last October.