Stopping at my favorite local Target store today, I had planned on picking up a few things and then proceeding to the nearest Pick N' Save grocery store for my dailies. Recent events have driven Wal-Mart and Target stores mad. They have started pushing full force to carry more and more variety like a pair of dueling fencers or knights. This swordfight has brought coffins to Wal-Mart and a host of grocery items among other new things to Target.
Choices. That's the problem for many(myself included at times). If you go shopping, you should always go with a detailed plan. Know what you are buying and go get it. Do NOT go empty-headed and walk the aisles. Not that having options/selection is a bad thing, but the more I thought about it...the more I wondered why all these stores are doing this.
What is the point of having everything in one store? Sure, convenience. But, it also defeats competition and specialty shops. Reduces it to location scrambles and distorts perception of quality and authenticity. No longer will you know quality Italian from mass-produced and imported generic. [Restaurants already are diversifying. Mexican, "Ethnic" and "American" options can be found in a number of Chinese-American and Greek restaurants.] Whoever gets to that plot of land first gets customers and the majority of the work force.
Pretty soon, it won't be about who carries what. It will be a game of Othello with companies racing to lay claim to every free space just to add another store and grab the folks attention from that part of town. But, if that results in a Target and/or Wal-Mart on every street, just think of all that merchandise. Surplus, even. Wasted because there weren't enough people with enough money or space to buy, store and use it all. Sodium and preservative levels sure aren't decreasing. When is enough enough? And, what DOES the future hold? What if one bigger company suddenly appears to buy the two big dogs? Then, it will be an enormous monopoly. What country will own the entire supply chain for the USA? And, will any authentic culture survive? Or, will mass-production and overseas trading decide what is genuine, quality Chinese food?
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