The Real Wal-Mart

For the past few weeks thing have been rather slow. I have been in between projects in my studio and decided to use the time to go to Wal-Mart for some input and inspiration. I have already been to IKEA quite a few times. Even though this trip to Germany is a cultural experiment, to be surrounded with new influences, I find myself exlporing the same concerns that I came here with. The same concerns, but from a slightly shifted vantage point.



The last time I visited Berlin, two years ago, I found the location of each of these stores but only had the time to visit one, IKEA. At the time I weighed my options and only now do I realize that I may have made the wrong choice. Between the two I thought that I would use the opportunity of being in Europe to visit an IKEA on its 'home turf' or well as close as possible (they're a Swedish company). There was an instant familiarity visiting the store, many big-box architecture intentionally follows identical patterns with their store design, but there were a few practical and psychological differences. The items being sold did not have a designer aura in this context, they did not feel like foreign furniture. The practicality and effectiveness of the design decisions was forefronted in a way that seems allusive and understated in America. Also, people were not walking out with whole rooms worth of furniture, toppling out of carts, to load into their family-sized vehicles. People in Berlin seemed to be shopping much more conspicuously, choosing only a few items at a time. Sure to return again soon, as most shopping in Europe happens in much shorter intervals, like buying groceries every few days. I had chosen not to visit the Wal-Mart in Berlin at that time, so this new excursion was a few years in coming.

As I said, I may have made the wrong choice back in 2005 when choosing between the two because when I showed up to the location last week to visit Wal-Mart, it was not there. It is hard to get rid of a 100,000 sq ft building, and that is not exactly what I mean, but there was another store in that location. As I was not sure what the new 'real' sign implied, I decided to go inside and find out. To determine if this was 'real' or this was Wal-Mart. Aware that Wal-Marts business practices are not the most popular nationally and internationally I thought that it may be possible that this was their European pseudonym, after all the stores colors were red, white, and blue. They do operate in a different name in Brazil and Mexico (I believe) having bought out their competitors, keeping the stores, and just changing ownership. This slight of hand may have proven successful on an international level. The first thing that I saw upon entering was an in store McDonald's, this russian doll effect of a store with in a store has not really caught on in Europe in the way it has in the US. Just think Starbucks in Safeway, or the ground breaking McDonalds in Wal-Mart. So I thought that I must be on the right track.



The more I looked around I saw familiar cues, the aisles upon aisles divided into sections by product likeness then by gender, each row ending with pallets of goods that serves as both display and storage, and each aisle punctuated by a floating sign with 'falling prices'. However, the signs that showed the before and after price were curiously devoid of any emotion, they are normally decorated with a yellow smiley face. Also there were piles of empty shipping boxes and broken products in the far corners of the store, and the shelving was not tall enough. These were escaping the tell tale branding components of the Wal-Mart experience, an attempt to maintain an immaculate showroom and seamless operations, "cleanliness is next to Godliness" might not be that far of a stretch. I was beginning to doubt that this was a 'real-Wal-Mart', and maybe it was just a 'real' store. I was convinced that if this was a Wal-Mart that their logo would have to be somewhere in the store, it is unlike them to not take any claim for their investments through branding. At a previous job, I was asked to acquire one of their logos to accompany a magazine story. This required contacting their PR in Bentonville, AK who said they would be glad to help, after I sent in a letter requesting the logo describing the context we would print it in, AND sending them a copy of the article. Then they would consider sending us a logo. Just then it caught my eye, a fluorescent green sticker on one of the legs of a womens clothing rack. "Property of Wal-Mart". This was subtle, more like the stickers on office chairs to prevent them from being stolen by claiming ownership, not very effective branding. Then they started to unfold and were appearing on the oblique side of the shopping cart handles. This seemed more believable, a slightly sub-conscious placement. Like the handles of shopping carts that say "Thank You" with a slightly raised text in the same plastic color as the handle itself, so you can feel it but not really read it.




As I left I felt that there were mixed signals and more questions had been raised than I had anticipated but there was deffinitely enough evidence to suggest that Wal-Mart had been here. After a little more research at home I came up with a conclusion. It was not Wal-Mart, well not anymore. Wal-Mart sold all of their stores and moved out of Germany in 2006. In the end I think I made the wrong decision in the summer of 2005 to choose IKEA over Wal-Mart. I could visit an IKEA in Europe any day, but I had missed my opportunity to visit this American giant in Germany.