Cry Me A River

I'm going to try not to engage in a bit of schadenfruede when I present this story.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted its worst monthly same-store sales results in at least 28 years, tallying a 3.5% decline in April due to this year's early Easter as well as generally challenging economic conditions for consumers.

Wal-Mart's 3.5% drop in the four-week period ending May 4 at U.S. stores fell below its earlier forecast of "flat" sales to a 2% decline. In a recorded phone message Thursday, Wal-Mart blamed bad weather last month in most U.S. regions and the early Easter on April 8, which pushed many Easter sales into March.

The truth is that there's not really much growth available for Wal-Mart in the United States. Communities that don't want them have learned how to organize and block their entry. And they can't add market share in the small towns they've obliterated (which are losing population to boot). So their sales figures are sort of doomed.

None of this is to say that they aren't making money, just less money than before. The cruel irony is that this isn't good enough for boards of directors and greedy corporate execs... like the ones who work at Wal-Mart. Live by perpetual growth, die by perpetual growth.

And incidentally, all retail sales figures are down as the economy slows, perhaps due to those $3.50 a gallon gas prices. Again, the greed is getting the better of this economy. Maybe that's why these trade deals have increased importance, so additional markets can be forced open and labor costs can plunge even lower.