Wal-Mart president and CEO Lee Scott admits that the US group has made "many mistakes" in Germany the beachhead for its assault on European markets.
But speaking during Wal-Mart's annual convention he claimed it was on track to make the improvements required for a better trading performance to go alongside the growth enjoyed by Asda.
A year ago Scott (pictured), after reporting "difficult" trading in Germany, pledged the company would be successful there in three years.
He said in Bentonville last week: "We lost sight of what makes our company special. But we are taking the right steps to convince the German consumer to believe in us. We are going to be successful in Germany." His comments were echoed by Wal-Mart's head of international operations John Menzer who said: "Our results in Germany are improving rapidly."
But Scott showered praise on Asda president and md Paul Mason and his UK team.
In a direct reference to the departures of Asda chairman Archie Norman and CEO Allan Leighton, Scott admitted US observers had questioned the changes in the UK executive team. He said: "Some people said we would suffer in Britain because we were losing a great management team. However, they had trained a great replacement team so we will not suffer."
Scott's words were echoed by other Wal-Mart executives who said Asda, with £10bn annual sales, had brought a higher degree of predictability to the group's international division sales and profits.
However, Scott also warned that Wal-Mart's competitors were getting better, with the "weak links dropping out."
He added: "The bar is being raised in the competitive arena.
"So it falls upon us to be the best out there."
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