The WSJ has an article abut the trouble Wal-Mart is facing, because competitors are offering Wal-Mart's low prices along with better quality merchandise, better service, and more convenience.
The most interesting part, however, was this video showing the way Wal-Mart has spread across the country like a microbe culture in a petri dish.
Today, though, Wal-Mart's influence over the retail universe is slipping. In fact, the industry's titan is scrambling to keep up with swifter rivals that are redefining the business all around it. It can still disrupt prices, as it did last year by cutting some generic prescriptions to $4. But success is no longer guaranteed.
Rival retailers lured Americans away from Wal-Mart's low-price promise by offering greater convenience, more selection, higher quality, or better service. Amid the country's growing affluence, Wal-Mart has struggled to overhaul its down-market, politically incorrect image while other discounters pitched themselves as more upscale and more palatable alternatives. The Internet has changed shoppers' preferences and eroded the commanding influence Wal-Mart had over its suppliers.
Link (Thanks,
Mister Jalopy!)
