[Vision2020] One more WalMart thing . . .

[Jeff Harkins]

Before I invest the time necessary to unravel the 
comments by Mr. Schou, I need to divest myself 
from the claim by Ms. Opyr that I asked for an 
example of a good business driven out by a bad 
(or whatever). I made no such request.  I did 
respond to the query raised by Gary (which I 
considered an appropriate question, given the 
claim by J Campbell that good businesses were 
being driven out by bad businesses - the thread 
is clear - J Campbell offered up the example)

I provided evidence supporting a position that KB 
Toys left Moscow, entered into E-commerce as a 
result of being convicted of charges of price 
manipulation, which appears to have resulted in 
their declaration of bankruptcy. If there was a 
Wal-Mart connection, it doesn't appear to be part of the public record.

Ms. Opyr appears to be careless in her reading 
and quick to indict.  It would make V2020 more 
useful as a public forum if you would be more careful in your posts.

I am unsure of the value of knowing Ms. Opyr's 
consumption habits. Personal consumption habits 
are ...... personal.  Oddly enough, I found a 
very different toy selection at Wal-Mart than she 
described.  While shopping for toys for nieces 
and nephews this Christmas season, I noted that 
most all the retailers in the area carried pretty 
much the same toys (my guess is that their 
inventory is driven by what they perceive their 
market demand is - ah - what the kids want!) The 
real challenge was to find a retailer that 
actually had the item in stock (not sold 
out).  Some of the items were found in the malls, 
some at Walmart - alas - some could only be found in Spokane.

But, as to the availability of KB Toys, their 
products are still available through their E-Commerce site.

Finally, I took no personal position on whether 
KB was a good business or a bad business - we all 
have our personal and subjective standards for 
such qualitative judgments.  I did make the claim 
that KB Toys was not a superior business and I 
did provide additional information so that those 
interested would have more info about the factors 
leading to KB's decision to close the Moscow Mall store.

Now, to the Schou matter .... till then.


At 03:43 PM 1/30/2006, you wrote:
>Dear Visionaries:
>
>Jeff Harkins and Gary Crabtree asked a few days 
>ago for examples of good businesses driven
>out
>by bad.  Joe Campbell attempted to supply them 
>with just such an example in the demise of
>KayBee Toys.  The problem here, however, is not 
>with Joe's answer but with Harkins' and
>Crabtree's question, which is a classic example 
>of petititio elenchi, i.e., begging the
>question.
>
>The underlying assumption in Harkins/Crabtree's 
>reasoning is that the "good" or "superior"
>
>business is always the one that survives.  But 
>that reasoning depends on how you define
>superior.  KayBee Toys, which offered a 
>demonstrably superior selection of goods than
>WalMart,
>went out of business.  Is WalMart therefore the 
>better store?  Define better.  WalMart
>offers five
>aisles of cheap, plastic, Chinese-made toys, 
>none of which I'd care to purchase.  Like
>Joe, I prefer
>to buy my kids' toys at Hodgins 
>Drugs.  Why?  Quality and selection.  It's also possible
>at Hodgins
>to buy the occasional union-made toy.  Flip the 
>toy and read the box.  If it's made in a
>country
>noted for its poor labor practices, tell your 
>kids, "Sorry, but I suspect that someone
>your age
>manufactured this doll in an overseas sweatshop."  Move on to the next item.
>
>(There, Dale -- more evidence for your blog that I'm a communist.)
>
>In Harkins/Crabtree's view, it would seem that 
>cheaper is always better.  Perhaps
>convenience
>also plays some role (KayBee Toys didn't sell 
>toothpaste or underwear) but weren't we also
>
>talking about expansion of choice?  How does 
>WalMart (or a WalMart Supercenter) represent
>a
>genuine expansion of choice?  What WalMart 
>offers is an inferior selection of toys, most
>of poor
>quality, but it offers them at cheap prices and 
>conveniently locates them between the
>furnace
>filters and the dog food.  My expanded choice 
>seems to be mere convenience and the chance
>to
>buy something crappy and disposable for my 
>kids.  It's the bargain that isn't a bargain --
>it's
>penny-wise and pound-foolish.
>
>We have a WalMart already.  We need WalMart 
>Supercenters in both Moscow and Pullman why?
>Because Winco, Rosauers, Safeway, the Co-Op, 
>Dissmore's, the Pullman Safeway, Tri-State,
>Hodgins, Les Schwab, Bruneel, Sears, 
>Deranleau's, Bookpeople, Hastings, Gottschalk's, the
>Bon,
>Ross Dress for Less, RiteAid, JoAnn's, 
>HyperSpud, Paradise Creek Bicycles, Paradise Ridge
>Records, Goodwill, Shopko, the Internet, and 
>Moscow's existing WalMart aren't offering us
>enough choice?  Or because they're not offering us enough cheap crap?
>
>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
>www.joanopyr.com
>
>
>---------------------------------------------
>This message was sent by First Step Internet.
>            http://www.fsr.com/
>
>
>_____________________________________________________
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯