I get the point, but that’s not necessarily true. I’ve noticed that local stores differentiate themselves pretty well not just from WM but also from the local chains. Grocery store in the center of town that’s been ther for 100 years: hey, we sell meat to the local restaurants - and we have real butchers. Local indie bookstore that’s been there for 50 years: here are books that you’ll need for class (for high school and jr high) and a wide selection of books for mom to read.
Certainly, this isn’t possible in all circumstances, but your explanation is missing a middle.
After watching Frontline’s expose on Wal Mart I find this company’s business practices to be imoral and deceptive. It is immoral to force a company out of business as they did to Rubbermaid. Not illegal, just immoral. I don’t need a product that’s $1 cheaper if it drives jobs overseas. A lot of those savings are loss-leader items to get people in the door.
Their daily pricing strategy is deceptive. It is designed to lure people into the store believing prices are lower than surrounding stores. But they actually charge higher prices through clever product positioning. I found this out long ago by basic comparison shopping but I doubt many people realize this. Again, not illegal, but deceptive. their entire advertising strategy revolves around low-low prices. Nowhere is customer service or selection a part of their market strategy.
Yes, other retailers exhibit similar corporate practices, Wal Mart has simply made it an art form. Their recent dip in sales brings a certain Christmas cheer to my heart.
I would also point out that one reason the little stores have problems keeping afloat has not much to do directly with Wal-Mart–it’s because distributors have sought to consolidate their accounts, in the hopes of driving their costs and prices lower, to win bigger customers themselves. An example of this I actually saw myself was a convenience store I worked at got cut of by a couple distributors of some popular items during the time I was there, not because of any problems with payment or shipment but because the distributors had a monthly account minimum that the store had to meet, or else the account got closed. The items the store got from them were good sellers, but overall the store could not move enough sales of that distributor’s merchandise to keep the account open, and in the area there was no other source of those items.
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