Ahh, WhiteTrash-Mart! The most cluttered of stores! Worst customer service, EVAAAR! The worst business for employee benefits and treatment (especially for women and minorities). The slayer of Main Streets and small retailers across the USA. The dick of all dictators to retail manufacturers across the globe! Well, Wal-Mart is hitting the expansion and sales wall and the wall is hitting back. I love it.
Read this article from the Wall Street Journal about Wal-Mart and critical mass. And there's this scary animated map showing how Wal-Mart has spread across the USA like germs spread across a petri dish.
From the article
"Today, though, Wal-Mart's influence over the retail universe is slipping. In fact, the industry's titan is scrambling to keep up with swifter rivals that are redefining the business all around it. It can still disrupt prices, as it did last year by cutting some generic prescriptions to $4. But success is no longer guaranteed."
"Amid the country's growing affluence, Wal-Mart has struggled to overhaul its down-market, politically incorrect image while other discounters pitched themselves as more upscale and more palatable alternatives. The Internet has changed shoppers' preferences and eroded the commanding influence Wal-Mart had over its suppliers."