It never ceases to amaze me the different caliber of shopping service, variety, selection and prices in areas where there are certain populations and the dearth of same in others. If I go to Wal-Mart, Target or Home Depot down on Delaware Ave. it’s one thing, but if I go to the same stores (allegedly a chain with all the same merchandise) the caliber of goods and selection is totally different.
No merchant stays in business very long if they don't carry the products which their clients are purchasing.
While the Chain stores may have a common purchasing and distribution system the specific goods available in each location (at those entities which are successful) is not dictated by a Commissar in central planning. (Although, a central computer MAY do much of it.)
Most chains today are extremely efficient in tracking "shelf life" of products. If something does not sell within a week or two -- it gets yanked and replaced by something which does.
The same is true of the price of goods and hence their caliber. If a store starts out with three versions of the same product and the cheapest one out-sells the other two, the other two will be eliminated and only the cheapest one will remain.
People used to complain about the selection available at the Acme at 43rd street, but it did carry Acme's house brands and major "mass marketed" brands. What it didn't carry was six or ten versions of the same products... it didn't have the shelf space for that.
You can even see the product differences in the three CVS stores in the area. They probably all have about 60 or 70% of the same products, but have differences after that.
An even more interesting comparison is the product line differences between Aldi and Trader Joe's ... both are the same company! Contemplate that one.
T.T.F.N. William H. Magill [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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