The Wal-Mart/Massmart merger is on. The Competition Tribunal approved the deal last week, much to the disappointment of local unions, despite the conditions that have been imposed. These include the continued recognition of SACCAWU for three years post the merger, the set-up of a R100 million supplier development fund and no merger-related retrenchments for a period of two years. Fedusa called the conditions "pathetic" and say we have missed the opportunity to get SA's foot in the door of Wal-Mart's global supply chain. But the fact of the matter is that the local procurement conditions the unions wanted implented would have been in contravention of SA's commitments to the World Trade Organisation, because local retailers aren't subject to the same conditions. What bothers me about all this is that they feel the only way to get our products into the global arena is by tying up our first sniff of international interest in bundles of regulations. Are we that incapable of making our own way out into the world? Just some food for thought...

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor
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