Walmart boasts stores in 24 countries, with a large presence in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Despite its success, Walmart has faced its fair share of failures, and one of these came when the company took a $1 billion loss after trying to expand into Germany in the late '90s.

Due to cultural differences, some German customers didn't appreciate Walmart's hyper-friendly employees, and Walmart's low prices caused regulators to accuse the chain of trying to put local shops out of business. After eight years, Walmart decided to cut their losses in Germany, and their competitor Metro almost instantly scooped up the chain.

This is not a unique problem as there are always risks when taking a franchise out of its element. Most areas tend to prefer familiar local shops over international chains, and Home Depot and Tesco faced similar problems when trying to expand into China and France, respectively.