Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation?s largest city, Wal-Mart?s chief executive said yesterday, ?I don?t care if we are ever here.? H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of the nation?s largest retailer, said that trying to conduct business in New York was so expensive ? and exasperating ? that ?I don?t think it?s worth the effort.? Mr. Scott?s remarks, delivered at a meeting with editors and reporters of The New York Times, amounted to a surprising admission of defeat, given the company?s vigorous efforts to crack into urban markets and expand beyond its suburban base in much of the country.
See "Wal-Mart Chief Writes Off New York", Michael Barbaro and Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, March 27, 2007