Walmart is the new Sears. And Walmart's business model is sooooo,.....20thCentrury!
What Walmart didn't notice is that the middle class is disappearing in the US and indeed in much of the world.
And not only that:
Just walk through any Walmart. What do you see? Limited selection, sort of Montgomery Ward Redux.
Higher than you would like prices,except for the few "loss leaders" which you can hunt for like Easter eggs. Poor quality with a tendency toward that stiff polyester frumpiness that only a small town Red State voter could love..
Shades of KMart!
And worse yet a trend toward trying to "do it all."
WELL, GOOD LUCK!
The tendency toward big box super-stores, like Circuit City and Best Buy et al, and super specialized stores like Whole Foods and Starbucks are going to make Walmart into the next Sears!
And, worse yet the middle class is disappearing. And the NEW POOR are shopping the thrift shops and dollar stores. What Walmart hasn't seen yet is that shopping has become very stratified by class and income in the US!
Walmart is no longer for the low wage workers....there is another level of shopping that is taking up the bottom rungs of the ladder. These are the super cheap food stores that are springing up nearly everywhere. These stores sell generic or store brands at VERY LOW PRICES. Why pay a dollar for a can of soup if you can pay 50 cents? Many of these SUPER-DISCOUNTERS are literally within line of sight of a Walmart! They are doing what Walmart did with Kmart! SETTING UP BUSINESS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!
And it's not just the new poor that shop super discounters, the middle and even the upper middle class are shopping there too!
Many hyper-modern shoppers are using the net now.
And, E-bay has made THRIFT SHOP CHIC the new big thing in fashion.
"V N IS IN" WITH YOUNGER BUYERS, who also have less money to spend.
And, note well, I've seen Lincoln Navigators and Hummers in some Thrift Shop Parking lots! I guess everyone likes a bargain. And with the Chinese Goods Glut now seemingly permanent.....even Walmart might
not be able to compete!
SORRY WALMART! YOU'VE BEEN "K-MARTED!"
YOU'RE BUSINESS PLAN IS OBSOLETE IN THE "NEW ECONOMY."
THEY WHO LIVE BY THE DISCOUNT, DIE BY THE DISCOUNT!
Just ask Detroit's auto makers!!
