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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe, Excellent try but short of the mark I'm
afraid. Stand alone toy stores are struggling everywhere for a variety of
reasons, not the least of them being the internet. Perhaps we should argue
against E- commerce? Almost all of the complaints that you make would apply,
plus no local jobs, no local taxes, and all money made goes out of the area.
Moscow does not have a population large enough to effectively support a toy
store. KB toys was undergoing a certain amount of financial disorganization at
the time the local store closed. The latest trends in toys tends toward
computer/video games which are heavily marketed at other retail outlets such as
Circuit City, Hastings, Costco, Shopko etc. And last but not least, the fact
that you are using a subjective, anecdotal example. If it were valid then I
would think that Hodgins would have been toast long ago. Wal Mart sells all the
products that they do, (prescriptions, OTC remedies, toys, sundries ) and
yet they still exist. Might this be attributed to superior service, good product
selection (toys) and an over all commitment to their customers?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am rather fond of Moscow also. We already have a
Wal Mart and I'm fairly sure that it isn't killing us. Plucking out of thin air
numbers like 98% 2% and attaching them to a poison pill arguments is pure
sophistry.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Try agin?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Gary</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=joekc@adelphia.net
href="mailto:joekc@adelphia.net">joekc@adelphia.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=jampot@adelphia.net
href="mailto:jampot@adelphia.net">g. crabtree</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=ophite@gmail.com
href="mailto:ophite@gmail.com">Andreas Schou</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, January 27, 2006 5:24
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Wal-Mart - was Doug Jones Says
It Clearly</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>Gary, </P>
<P>I didn't think Mr. Schou's analogy blew but here is a real world example of
an inferior business beating out a superior competitor. The mall used to have
a toy store: Kay-Be Toys, or something like that. I went there frequently when
my son was younger and my wife let me spoil him more. Wal-Mart drove Kay-Bee
Toys out of business. Kay-Be Toys had a far superior selection of toys and was
by any set of standards a better toy store than Wal-Mart. (Neither are as good
as Hodgins Drug Store but that's another issue.) What happened was that kids
go to toy stores with their parents but parents buy other things besides toys,
things that are not sold at Kay-Be Toys. In short, Wal-Mart offers low-cost
and convenience. That is it. It is 'superior' to other stores for these two
reasons only. But that is enough to drive out some businesses. Once those
businsesses leave, the folks in Moscow will have fewer choices, not more
choices. </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>You note that "many communities that are co-existing with the worlds
largest retailer to the betterment of its residents." But many are not. It was
noted in Tom Trail's post that two communities like ours were "sucked dry"
after a Super Wal-Mart moved in. For the sake of argument suppose that 98
communities like ours were not sucked dry. Would you take a pill that had only
a 2% chance of killing you if you didn't need it and you were getting along
fine without it? I don't think so. I love Moscow and low-cost and convenience
are not enough reason for me to risk sucking it dry. </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><BR>--<BR>Joe Campbell<BR></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><BR>---- "g. crabtree" <JAMPOT
adelphia.net="#DEFAULT">wrote:<BR><BR>=============<BR>Mr. Schou, Your analogy
blows. It seems clear to me that you have very<BR>little understanding of how
an 'all in" bet works but rather than educate<BR>you on the finer points of
poker allow me to propose an analogy of my own. A<BR>player comes to the game
and bluffs outrageously each and every hand. Soon,<BR>his fellow gamblers see
him for what he is and call him. His weak hands are<BR>revealed, his resources
dwindle and very soon he is out of the game.<BR><BR>This appears to be the
tactic of the common garden variety wal-mart<BR>opponent. Exclaim loudly how
WM will be the ruination of civilization and<BR>will bring about the heat
death of the universe and so on. When folks see<BR>that there are many
communities that are co-existing with the worlds largest<BR>retailer to the
betterment of its residents our protester is revealed as at<BR>best, wrong and
at worst, a dupe.<BR><BR>Getting back to the original heart of the discussion,
hows about some real<BR>world examples of inferior business' beating out
superior competitors. I'll<BR>be waiting, watching the pages of my calendar
flit by.<BR><BR>gc<BR><BR><BR>----- Original Message -----<BR>From: "Andreas
Schou" <OPHITE gmail.com="#DEFAULT"><BR>To: "g. crabtree" <JAMPOT
adelphia.net="#DEFAULT"><BR>Cc: <JOEKC adelphia.net="#DEFAULT">; <VISION2020
moscow.com="#DEFAULT"><BR>Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 4:48 PM<BR>Subject:
Re: [Vision2020] Doug Jones Says It Clearly<BR><BR><BR>>You are right about
my confidence in a free market. Perhaps you could give<BR>>me a few
examples where an inferior business beat out a superior one.<BR><BR>Let me use
a poker analogy. If I had a trillion dollars, played poker<BR>for a living,
and won every poker game I played by going "all in" on<BR>every hand, would I
be the best poker player that ever lived? Hint:<BR>no, I would
not.<BR><BR>This is Wal*Mart's business model: saturate the market,
make<BR>monopsonic agreements with suppliers, and run as thin a margin
as<BR>possible in new stores until all the other business goes under.
Is<BR>this a good business strategy? Yes. Does it contribute to
market<BR>efficiency -- which is generally how a "superior business"
is<BR>understood to work? No. It does not.<BR><BR>--
ACS<BR><BR></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>