rriers are the governments themselves. Conducting business in Cuba is virtually impossible for American companies probably until the fall of the Castro regime. Domestic and international pressure on human rights, governments considered to be corrupt or "illegal" may also hamper an organization’s ability to do business in certain regions of the globe. Although these factors are challenging, they are not insurmountable. Take Wal-Mart’s entrance into the mainland China market. The benefits of building a business in this market are enormous, and every company in the industry that considers itself a global player has spent the past five years trying to win the favor of Chinese officials. While most continue to lose money, including Wal-Mart, they've come to realize that loss is the cost of admission to a market offering the potential for enormous sales and profits as it transitions to a market-based economy and the standard of living increases for its 1.2 billion people. To get in on the ground floor, Wal-Mart entered the market in August 1996 with a supercenter and a Sam's Club. It added another supercenter in 1997, two more in 1998 and one in 1999. Expansion was more aggressive last year with five supercenter openings giving Wal-Mart a year-end total of 10 supercenters and one Sam's Club. The increased comfort level is the result of China's growing friendliness toward foreign investment in the retail sector of its economy. China is in the process of gaining admittance to the 140-member World Trade Organization. Inclusion is expected to reduce trade barriers eventually leading to sweeping changes in its economy (DSN Retailing Today, 2001). Wal-Mart is positioned to capitalize on this growth with a store format that has enjoyed strong acceptance since day one. Changes have been made to accommodate Chinese customers and different traffic patterns in stores. For example, customers shop stores more frequently and purcha...
