CRIMINAL CAPITALISM WHITE COLLAR CRIME PAYES FOR WALMART After years of heralding China as one of its best markets, Wal-Mart (WMT) in August said its performance there was among the worst in its major countries. A management shake-up and job cuts have followed. Although the reversals seem abrupt, cracks in the foundation of Wal-Mart’s retail business in China have been developing for years, hidden by questionable accounting and unauthorized sales practices, according to employees and internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The practices -- including bulk sales to other retailers and some sales allegedly booked when no merchandise left the shelves -- made business appear strong even as retail transactions slowed and unsold inventory piled up, these people and documents say. Wal-Mart said in August that it was unhappy with inventory growth internationally. Stores in China continue to make bulk sales, sometimes unprofitably and without required management authorizations, according to employees who’ve left the company this past month. Concerns about bulk sales, raised as far back as 2011 in an internal report, have been the subject of inquiries in China by Wal-Mart’s legal team as recently as May, according to an internal company e-mail and an employee interviewed by lawyers. bloomberg/news/2014-12-10/wal-mart-report-found-profit-boosted-by-china-maneuvers.html
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 11:41:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015