As Wal-Mart goes, so the world?

The FT reports that Wal-Mart has seen its sales in the developing world slump. According to CEO Lee Scott:

It started in North America and spread to Europe; the economic difficulties are not showing up in some of the developing countries as well.

This news seems particularly apropos considering this recent post on ending poverty through supermarkets. According to Wal-Mart's 2008 Annual Report, the company now has 3,000 branches outside of the U.S. that accounted for almost 25 percent of sales. That can't be a good sign for consumers in the developing world.