Wal-Mart appoints new China boss after pork scandal

7 Feb 2012

BEIJING, CHINA: US retail giant Wal-Mart on Tuesday, 7 February, named a new chief executive for its China operations, four months after the retailer's former boss quit following a scandal over falsely labelled pork.

Greg Foran, who has worked in the retail industry for 30 years and is a former senior executive of Australian supermarket chain Woolworths, will take the helm next month, Wal-Mart China said in a statement.

Foran's predecessor, Ed Chan, quit in October citing personal reasons. His resignation came after authorities temporarily shut down 13 Wal-Mart stores in the southwestern city of Chongqing found to be selling pork falsely labelled as organic.

Clara Wong, senior vice president of the China operation's human resources division, also quit.

Local authorities detained Wal-Mart staff and ordered the company to pay more than US$420,000 in fines and other penalties.

The Chongqing government has punished the US retailer at least 21 times for various infringements, including selling food past its expiry date and false advertising, according to Chinese media reports.

In January 2011, several Wal-Mart stores around China were also fined for deceptive pricing practices.

Wal-Mart, which has more than 370 stores in 140 Chinese cities, made no reference to the scandals in its statement.

Source: AFP

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