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Date:         Thu, 17 May 2001 23:47:34 -0500
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <jhrodgers@charter.net>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <jhrodgers@charter.net>
Subject:      Re: Wal-Mart parking and unfair competition - (partiallyoff-topic)
Comments: To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Ron, your holding forth on business functions is one of the best I have seen in a long time. You are right on target.

Bottom line.......the first order of any business is to make a profit. If as a business owner you don't accomplish that, you will be out of business.

How do you make a profit? You can have much discussion but it's done by providing a product or a service the public (customer) wants. There are no other options. Product or service. If both are supplied with a high level of support and significant integrity, customers will return, and they will drop those who don't supply the same.

Enjoyed your commentary!!

John Rodgers 88 GL Driver

The Bus Depot wrote: > > > Are we so desperate to find place to sleep that Wal-Mart is used as > > campground? I understand if there is emergency or breakdown but "camping" > > there? Truckstops aren't much better with rigs running all night > > long... > > Evon, Haley (now almost 3, but 5 months old when we toured Europe for a > month), and I have camped in shopping center parking lots, highway fuel/rest > stops, etc. many times as we traveled by Westy through the U.S. and Europe. > Of course when a scenic rest stop presented itself, without taking us too > far out of our way or costing much, we availed ourselves of it. But why > spend too much time (or money) looking for one if all you're going to do is > pull in, sleep, wake up, and pull out? As often as not, I'd rather make > quick work of that end of things, and focus on finding scenic places to > enjoy my waking hours instead. (i.e. if I spend a half hour looking for a > scenic place to sleep, that's half an hour I could have spent looking for a > scenic place to hike.) Of course, every once in a while, waking to an > incredible sunrise over a picturesque setting is not to be missed... > > > Hey, while we are email'ing wal-mart, can you ask about their propensity > > to go into a small town, undercut the competition and then leave town- > > after the local hardware store, etc have gone belly up.... > > Okay, admittedly off topic. But... > > As a small business owner myself, you might think I'd be anti-Walmart, but > actually I'm not. Walmart is not successful because they're big; they're big > because they're successful. Walmart didn't just drop from the sky as a huge > mega-chain. They started out as a single local store, and did really > (really) well for themselves. > > Local merchants having to compete with big chains is nothing new. Small > local merchants have been competing against big chains since Woolworths > opened up hundreds of stores that competed with small town general stores. > After that it was Kmart/Kresge. Not to mention 7-11 killing off a ton of > corner groceries, with their 24 hour convenience etc. And after Walmart > there will be someone else. But as they say, it isn't just the size that > matters. Remember Grants? Korvettes? Montgomery Ward? Gimbels? Hechinger? > They also had a tremendous size advantage over competing local merchants - > but where are they now? So it's not Walmart's size per se that really gives > them their biggest advantage - it's their success. They have managed, > better than most, to give the consumer something that he perceives that he > is not getting from the local merchant, or from other large retailers. > (Whether that perception is justified is irrelevent to the rules of the free > enterprise game.) The consumer votes with his wallet, to the deteriment of > merchants (small and large) who simply aren't playing the game as well. > That's what the free enterprise system is all about. And the fact that > Walmart is not afraid to close an unprofitable location (which actually > doesn't happen all that often) is simply another example of being a smart > business. The most successful retail chains, not just Walmart, won't > hesitate to close an unprofitable location, as well they should if they want > to survive. Most of the now-defunct chains I cited above were much slower to > do so - until the bankruptcy courts eventually did it for them. Good lesson > there. In fact, even a small merchant will not keep a location open that is > losing money unless he has a fiscal death wish; he too is in business to > earn a living, not as a nonprofit public service. > > Does this mean that a local merchant has to roll over and die if a Walmart > opens nearby? Absolutely not. Competition like Walmart and Home Depot > tends to thin out the herd, so to speak. The local merchants that survive > are the ones that react to the competition, offering things that it cannot, > such as superior service, selection, product, expertise, or some other > commodity that makes them a viable competitor. In fact, often the consumer > benefits from the fact that Walmart has lit a fire under the local > businesses' asses, making them work harder for their customers. (A few local > businesses that I patronize come to mind. They are now kicking the > megastores' butts in their particular niche; they could have been this good > all along, but without the serious competition didn't have the incentive.) > On the other hand, the merchants that were weak to begin with, or simply put > their heads in the sand, go away. Yes, it's harsh. But it's also what the > free enterprise system is all about. > > In my opinion you can't hate Walmart simply for being so good at what they > do. They're no more predatory than any of the other big retail chains, > which _all_ do their best to steal business from local stores (as well as > eachother). Why pick on Walmart specifically? Okay, maybe tax the living > heck out of them because they're so filthy rich. But you have to let them > play the game just like any other retailer. Locally, a town fought against a > Walmart coming in, but then let a Target open up in the same location > instead. Why? Just because Target is not as successful? Do they really > think that Target will intentionally be gentle to the local merchants, or > less prone to close the location if it isn't profitable? If they do, they > are naive. Believe me, Target would love nothing more than to be the next > Walmart. > > That said, it's entirely possible that someday somebody will put me out of > business by doing what I do better, just as Walmart has done to many > merchants. Just because I'm successful now doesn't mean that down the road > someone smarter, shrewder, leaner, or just plain luckier won't whoop my ass > good. Believe me, I won't go down without a fight. But if I lose, well, > that's how the free enterprise system works. I knew that getting into it. > If I didn't like the rules, then I shouldn't have decided to play the game. > > Of course many would strongly disagree with my assessment. My wife is one of > them. She's a hopeless softie; she'd make a lousy CEO. :-) She shops > Walmart sometimes, but feels guilty doing it. In fact she'll knowingly pay > more money for inferior goods in order to support a local merchant. She > regularly buys marginally stale (or sometimes even not-so-marginally stale) > groceries, for twice the price of the big supermarket, from the corner > grocer because he's the "little guy." Personally, I feel that if he really > wanted her support, he wouldn't sell her stale food in the first place. > > - Ron Salmon > The Bus Depot, Inc. > www.busdepot.com > (215) 234-VWVW


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