They say Wal-Mart is going to build its largest ever mall in Moscow. Sounds believable: Moscow already has a few American-sized malls, most located on the intersection of the Ring Road (until recently, the city limit) and a major pike (shosse). Inside, a Moscow Auchan is quite similar to a Wal-Mart. Moreover, a Moscow Mega mall looks like a shopping mall in a middle-class neighborhood of an American town with 500,000 or a million residents.
The same interior design; the same Sbarro and Burger King at the heart; smells of popcorn and coffee, occasional to ubiquitous; Mexican-looking people cleaning the floor… only that in Moscow, it’s Central Asian guest workers, who sometimes look remarkably like Latin Americans. Let’s see if Wal-Mart makes it to Russia. At least they won’t get boycotted here.