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Personally I think it's both - they execute incredibly well given their scale AND they abuse their market power.

echelon 3y ago
> Personally I think it's both - they execute incredibly well given their scale AND they abuse their market power. They execute well to clear the competitive landscape. Then just well enough to prevent new competition from exploiting a subpar performance gradient. Success grows fat off of easy cash flows instead of staying nimble. That's every major tech company and most big conglomerates.
- bobthepanda 3y ago
  Walmart also has a hedge in that IIRC its initial expansion was in rural areas neglected by most department store/big box chains. If anything, the dollar stores represent more of a threat to Walmart.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    The dollar stores around here pose no threat, except maybe in the area of helium balloons. The jump to being a five dollar store that the other one did is doomed to failure.
    - thebears5454 3y ago
      Dollar stores are certainly stealing a lot of Walmarts lunch in rural illinois and Iowa. Why would you go 35min to Walmart if you just need 10 things when there's a dollar store 10 min away that's almost the same price as Walmart and much better shopping experience.
      - jstarfish 3y ago
        Yeah, and they're one of the reasons the poor stay poor. Dollar stores are a terrible value. Walmart made a name for itself with its "rollback" program, where products would appear cheaper than competitors' because the SKU contained one less ounce/gram/unit. Dollar stores takes Walmart's own game to extremes; you buy a quart of watered-down bleach for $2, where buying an entire gallon (4x the volume) of the real thing would cost you $3 at Walmart. Or, $20 for a 14-pack of Monster drinks at Walmart is a terrible deal when they're "just" $3 (each) at the gas station! You see the same thing with people buying individual packs of cigarettes instead of an entire carton. The math works against them. They don't understand it.
        bobthepanda 3y ago
        Sometimes it’s not about understanding. There was a analysis, recently, that amongst users of the New York subway, the most common fare type amongst the poor was the pay per ride card. Even though it had the highest per-ride cost, it turns out that poor people living paycheck to paycheck simply cannot stump up the upfront cash to pay for the better deal. (As a result the new fare system combines both with automatic caps on pay as you go fares.)
        thebears5454 3y ago
        You're missing the entire point of my comment.
    - Spooky23 3y ago
      Dollar General is kicking WalMart in the teeth pretty good.
      - bombcar 3y ago
        Maybe somewhere but around here I was generally disappointed with the prices at the DG. I could see how more locations could help.

> Personally I think it's both - they execute incredibly well given their scale AND they abuse their market power. They execute well to clear the competitive landscape. Then just well enough to prevent new competition from exploiting a subpar performance gradient. Success grows fat off of easy cash flows instead of staying nimble. That's every major tech company and most big conglomerates.

bobthepanda 3y ago
Walmart also has a hedge in that IIRC its initial expansion was in rural areas neglected by most department store/big box chains. If anything, the dollar stores represent more of a threat to Walmart.
- bombcar 3y ago
  The dollar stores around here pose no threat, except maybe in the area of helium balloons. The jump to being a five dollar store that the other one did is doomed to failure.
  - thebears5454 3y ago
    Dollar stores are certainly stealing a lot of Walmarts lunch in rural illinois and Iowa. Why would you go 35min to Walmart if you just need 10 things when there's a dollar store 10 min away that's almost the same price as Walmart and much better shopping experience.
    - jstarfish 3y ago
      Yeah, and they're one of the reasons the poor stay poor. Dollar stores are a terrible value. Walmart made a name for itself with its "rollback" program, where products would appear cheaper than competitors' because the SKU contained one less ounce/gram/unit. Dollar stores takes Walmart's own game to extremes; you buy a quart of watered-down bleach for $2, where buying an entire gallon (4x the volume) of the real thing would cost you $3 at Walmart. Or, $20 for a 14-pack of Monster drinks at Walmart is a terrible deal when they're "just" $3 (each) at the gas station! You see the same thing with people buying individual packs of cigarettes instead of an entire carton. The math works against them. They don't understand it.
      - bobthepanda 3y ago
        Sometimes it’s not about understanding. There was a analysis, recently, that amongst users of the New York subway, the most common fare type amongst the poor was the pay per ride card. Even though it had the highest per-ride cost, it turns out that poor people living paycheck to paycheck simply cannot stump up the upfront cash to pay for the better deal. (As a result the new fare system combines both with automatic caps on pay as you go fares.)
      - thebears5454 3y ago
        You're missing the entire point of my comment.
  - Spooky23 3y ago
    Dollar General is kicking WalMart in the teeth pretty good.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Maybe somewhere but around here I was generally disappointed with the prices at the DG. I could see how more locations could help.