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The first thing I learned when I started working life in a store was: "We do not compete by undercutting the competition. That will kill us both."

• JoeAltmaier 9y ago
  But, corn is corn. There's no winning in a commodity market. And grain is the classic commodity.
  • alistairSH 9y ago
    But is it? I don't know about corn, but the mega-crop varieties of tomato and apple are bred to maximize revenue/reduce cost (larger, more robust for shipping, more consistent shape), not taste and nutrition.
    • cortesoft 9y ago
      Right, there are two different markets, commodity crops and specialty crops (e.g. mega-crop tomatos vs organic local tomatoes) You can be in either market, but it is hard to switch between them. The equipment, land area used, process, etc are different.
      • tonyedgecombe 9y ago
        Also there is no middle ground, it's one or the other.
        • linkregister 9y ago
          I disagree; most of the produce at Whole Foods is mass-produced organic food, which is in between the quality of megafarm produce and small-farm produce.
          • princekolt 9y ago
            But how objective is the difference between all these three? I have the impression most of the people who buy speciality crops wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them in most cases on a blind test.
            • sumedh 9y ago
              I have seen lot of comments on reddit about Europeans complaining that vegies from Dutch greenhouses don't taste good. I always wonder if then can differentiate if they did a blind taste.
            • alistairSH 9y ago
              Personally, I'm not sure I could tell in a blind test, though I'd like to think I could. But, I do know that when I travel abroad (outside the US), the produce seems to taste better. Maybe it really does, or maybe it's just my own biases. Regardless, we try to buy a substantial portion of our produce at farmers markets, when available (they aren't usually open in the winter months near DC).
              • JoeAltmaier 9y ago
                There's a huge difference between different vegetables and fruits. But its probably due to selection of variety, not so much how its grown. Mass production limits what can be planted, according to what will survive the automated harvesting equipment and the trip to the store. So, tasteless tomatoes that are hard and picked green etc.
  • adventured 9y ago
    You can win in a commodity market by changing the commodity, or by cornering the commodity in some manner (whether distribution, demand + supply angles, or supply). OPEC for example exists to create such an atmosphere for its members. DeBeers managed to keep the price of not-very-scarce diamond comically inflated for many decades. Monsanto is going to use CRISPR to create its own unique variations of crops (changing the commodity).
• Analemma_ 9y ago
  Which only works until someone like Amazon comes around. Market inefficiencies which only persist by mutual agreement are doomed in the long run.
  • workthrowaway27 9y ago
    That's not an example of a market inefficiency. It's an example of Amazon having a structural advantage that allows it to be profitable at a lower cost to consumers.
    • azernik 9y ago
      The market inefficiency being referenced was not Amazon coming in; it was the existing producers keeping their prices above fair market value by gentleman's agreement.
      • workthrowaway27 9y ago
        If they're both going to go out of business by cutting prices then the prices are already at fair market value.