You guys should watch your asses' US warns Clive Beddall, New York "European grocers should be fearful ­ Wal-Mart's only just begun." That was the blunt warning to British traders during Manhattan's Summer Fancy Food Show here this week. Business journals and Wall Street gurus lined up to predict the "ruckus" Wal-Mart had caused in the UK by snapping up Asda may be repeated in mainland Europe. European buyers and sellers flying in for NYC's 46th annual orgy of food may have hoped they had left speculation about another Wal-Mart assault at home. They were wrong. A leading business journal proclaimed recent speculation about a Wal-Mart bid for Germany's Metro group was "logical," and the story became a hot topic among the exhibits at NYC's Javits Convention Centre. "Wal-Mart wants to conquer the world," said the president of a Texas food supplier. "The Asda deal is a long way from being the end of the story in Europe and your guys should watch their asses." However, several Wall Street analysts suggested that a new "mainland European deal for Wal-Mart" could see the Arkansas giant going into partrnership with Metro rather than snapping up its chain of Real hypermarkets. The Daily Deal, a journal for corporate, law and finance professionals, quoted analyst John Lawrence, of Morgan Keegan and Co. "Wal­Mart's history has been to get a local partner when they go abroad. Asda was a special case because its culture is so close to Wal-Mart's." At a Food from Britain seminar for UK suppliers at the opening of the show, FFB's US president Steve Dawson, warned: "Wal-Mart is a 900lb gorilla ­ it's a powerhouse, with massive potential, so it's no surprise some chains in the UK have been scared. "However, I sympathise. Just as they thought they had countered the threat from German discounters, and consumers had shown they we're prepared to pay a high price for premium food, along comes Wal-Mart." - See page 12. {{NEWS }}