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This really annoys me about North American cities. In Asia, even if a city has incredibly expensive real estate (e.g. Hong Kong or Singapore), you still have oo
by starky 5y ago
This really annoys me about North American cities. In Asia, even if a city has incredibly expensive real estate (e.g. Hong Kong or Singapore), you still have oodles of independent stores and restaurants who can afford to be in business because they pay for tiny square footages. Half those stores now sit empty because rents were constantly raised, and many of the ones that had hung on couldn't make it through the pandemic.
- refurb 5y agoHaving lived in those cities I preferred shopping in the megastores and there was a definite shift at least in Singapore towards larger stores - cheaper prices, bigger selection, more convenient.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoI do not understand why you are downvoted. The fundamental issue for smaller merchants is economies of scale. 90% of people only need access to 3 different versions of the same product 90% of the time: high, mid, and low quality. Hence why retail is a “solved” market that has had sub 5% profit margins for a very long time. This is what efficiency looks like and what 90% of people want.