NEW YORK –- Frustrated by a so-far unsuccessful and bruising battle to open its first discount store in New York City, Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott has thrown up his hands and given up on the effort.

In a meeting with editors and reporters of The New York Times, Scott was quoted as saying that, "I don’t think it’s worth the effort.”

While Wal-Mart has thus far successfully opened stores nationwide in suburban areas, its attempts to expand into urban markets has encountered resistance.

According to The New York Times, much of the opposition to Wal-Mart in cities like New York is led by unions. Organized labor, fearing that the retailer’s low prices and modest wages will undercut unionized stores, have built anti-Wal-Mart alliances with Democratic members of city councils.

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As if echoing Scott’s sentiment, Ed Ott, executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council was quoted as saying when he learned the news about Scott’s decision, "We don’t miss them. We have great supermarkets and great retail outlets in New York. We don’t need Wal-Mart.”

Wal-Mart has nearly 4,000 stores in the U.S. Besides its attempts to open stores in Manhattan, Scott was also unsuccessful opening stores in Rego Park, Queens and in Staten Island.

Commenting on the unsuccessful attempts, Scott was quoted as saying, "The glue is the unions.”

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