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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have seen so many 'one item' stores close since
moving to Moscow it would be hard to miss the point. A baby store that only
sells baby stuff, a women's store that only sell high priced items, a 'teeny
bopper' store that only has clothes that fit a 15 year old, a toy store that
only sells high priced toys that and so on and so on. If a store does not
sell a variety of items it won't make it in small cities. Especially if, as in
the case of KB they sell only toys at a price that is twice what they are in
Lewiston or Spokane. The first week I lived here the people I met were delighted
that I knew how to get around in Spokane so they could go shopping up there and
not stay downtown. I could get to the Northtown mall and they were
thrilled and I became very popular. That was 1961 and nothing has changed
except that lots of trips are made to Lewiston now and they didn't then. The
best kind of stores are ones that sell lots of items at a price most people can
afford and Sam Walton built a business based on that premise. He was full of new
ideas and made it work for him...just like others before him who figured out how
to do it for themselves and make a fortune. It is the American dream. It is what
freedom means...being able to make choices at all levels. Even at the level of
making obscene amounts of money. Do we need to do some checks? yes obviously,
but we are not going to be able to completely stop Wal-mart or other stores from
following their example of business. Unions have made it difficult to do
business in the USA for sometime now and they are going to have to be reigned in
also...look at autos. It is one of the problems we have and Congress is too busy
looking at other things to really address the need...but it will be fixed in the
marketplace just as other things have been in the past. </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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=jeffh@moscow.com
href="mailto:jeffh@moscow.com">Jeff Harkins</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, January 30, 2006 7:46
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] One more
WalMart thing . . .</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>Jeff, </P>
<P>Thanks, very much, for the explanation of KB Toys demise. Apologies to J.
Ford who hinted at a similar point that I failed to investigate further. (I
did a quick search for KB on the web, and find a website, thought that they
were still in business.) I don't remember Gary saying anything even close to
the explanation below, but either way the details are helpful. </P>
<P>A few points though. The Moscow store was closed well before the Spokane
store. I find it hard to believe that local market factors had nothing to do
with this. But this is a minor point. </P>
<P>A somewhat more substantive point is that toy stores like KB Toys, as well
as grocery stores like Albertsons, are having a difficult time staying in
business given the success of Super Wal-Marts. Jeff, you know a lot about
economics but you know nothing about toys if you think that the selection at
Wal-Mart and the selection at KB Toys is the same. It just isn't. Trust me.
I've spent a lot of time in the last few years in each (I shoped at Wal-Mart
regularly up until 2 months ago). Just taking hot wheels cars, for instance,
KB had a much better selection. </P>
<P>Further, my claim was not that "good businesses were being driven out by
bad businesses." My point was that the so-called 'free market' does not always
lead to an increase in consumer choice. It was a rebutal of an old article of
economic faith uttered continuously by Donovan but, I believe, also by
yourself and Gary. </P>
<P>Let's skip the KB example since there are facts about that case of which I
am clearly ignorant. Let's, instead, borrow a piece of economic analysis
offered by Gary in a previous post. There he claimed that KB Toys and its ilk
were being pushed out by a move toward computer games and other electronic
toys as well as the increase of web-based toy stores. It just so happens that
(a) I don't like computer games and I don't want my son to play them (I'll
save you the explanation) and (b) I don't like to order things on-line (I'll
save you the explanation here, too). Sure, I'm old-fashioned but my point is
the the so-called free market has not lead to a greater number of choices for
the consumer. We are forced now by 'consumer demand' to purchase new and
different toys in stores or older models on-line. There is only an appearance
of an increase of choice provided that you happen to like what the majority of
people like. If your tastes and inclinations go against the majority, too bad
for you. </P>
<P>Again, Gary might say something about my selfish motivations but he is
(again) missing the point. I ask you, people of Moscow: Do you live here
because Moscow is like every place else or because it is different? Do you
think of yourself as someone who thinks just like everyone else or someone who
thinks outside the box? If the answer to both is the latter, do what you can
to CHOOSE now to ensure that Moscow remains unique before low-cost and
convenience turns it into Anytown, USA.<BR>--<BR>Joe Campbell<BR><BR>---- Jeff
Harkins <JEFFH moscow.com="#DEFAULT">wrote:<BR><BR>=============<BR>Before I
invest the time necessary to unravel the<BR>comments by Mr. Schou, I need to
divest myself<BR>from the claim by Ms. Opyr that I asked for an<BR>example of
a good business driven out by a bad<BR>(or whatever). I made no such request.
I did<BR>respond to the query raised by Gary (which I<BR>considered an
appropriate question, given the<BR>claim by J Campbell that good businesses
were<BR>being driven out by bad businesses - the thread<BR>is clear - J
Campbell offered up the example)<BR><BR>I provided evidence supporting a
position that KB<BR>Toys left Moscow, entered into E-commerce as a<BR>result
of being convicted of charges of price<BR>manipulation, which appears to have
resulted in<BR>their declaration of bankruptcy. If there was a<BR>Wal-Mart
connection, it doesn't appear to be part of the public record.<BR><BR>Ms. Opyr
appears to be careless in her reading<BR>and quick to indict. It would make
V2020 more<BR>useful as a public forum if you would be more careful in your
posts.<BR><BR>I am unsure of the value of knowing Ms. Opyr's<BR>consumption
habits. Personal consumption habits<BR>are ...... personal. Oddly enough, I
found a<BR>very different toy selection at Wal-Mart than she<BR>described.
While shopping for toys for nieces<BR>and nephews this Christmas season, I
noted that<BR>most all the retailers in the area carried pretty<BR>much the
same toys (my guess is that their<BR>inventory is driven by what they perceive
their<BR>market demand is - ah - what the kids want!) The<BR>real challenge
was to find a retailer that<BR>actually had the item in stock (not
sold<BR>out). Some of the items were found in the malls,<BR>some at Walmart -
alas - some could only be found in Spokane.<BR><BR>But, as to the availability
of KB Toys, their<BR>products are still available through their E-Commerce
site.<BR><BR>Finally, I took no personal position on whether<BR>KB was a good
business or a bad business - we all<BR>have our personal and subjective
standards for<BR>such qualitative judgments. I did make the claim<BR>that KB
Toys was not a superior business and I<BR>did provide additional information
so that those<BR>interested would have more info about the factors<BR>leading
to KB's decision to close the Moscow Mall store.<BR><BR>Now, to the Schou
matter .... till then.<BR><BR><BR>At 03:43 PM 1/30/2006, you
wrote:<BR>>Dear Visionaries:<BR>><BR>>Jeff Harkins and Gary Crabtree
asked a few days<BR>>ago for examples of good businesses
driven<BR>>out<BR>>by bad. Joe Campbell attempted to supply
them<BR>>with just such an example in the demise of<BR>>KayBee Toys. The
problem here, however, is not<BR>>with Joe's answer but with Harkins'
and<BR>>Crabtree's question, which is a classic example<BR>>of petititio
elenchi, i.e., begging the<BR>>question.<BR>><BR>>The underlying
assumption in Harkins/Crabtree's<BR>>reasoning is that the "good" or
"superior"<BR>><BR>>business is always the one that survives.
But<BR>>that reasoning depends on how you define<BR>>superior. KayBee
Toys, which offered a<BR>>demonstrably superior selection of goods
than<BR>>WalMart,<BR>>went out of business. Is WalMart therefore
the<BR>>better store? Define better. WalMart<BR>>offers
five<BR>>aisles of cheap, plastic, Chinese-made toys,<BR>>none of which
I'd care to purchase. Like<BR>>Joe, I prefer<BR>>to buy my kids' toys at
Hodgins<BR>>Drugs. Why? Quality and selection. It's also possible<BR>>at
Hodgins<BR>>to buy the occasional union-made toy. Flip the<BR>>toy and
read the box. If it's made in a<BR>>country<BR>>noted for its poor labor
practices, tell your<BR>>kids, "Sorry, but I suspect that
someone<BR>>your age<BR>>manufactured this doll in an overseas
sweatshop." Move on to the next item.<BR>><BR>>(There, Dale -- more
evidence for your blog that I'm a communist.)<BR>><BR>>In
Harkins/Crabtree's view, it would seem that<BR>>cheaper is always better.
Perhaps<BR>>convenience<BR>>also plays some role (KayBee Toys didn't
sell<BR>>toothpaste or underwear) but weren't we
also<BR>><BR>>talking about expansion of choice? How does<BR>>WalMart
(or a WalMart Supercenter) represent<BR>>a<BR>>genuine expansion of
choice? What WalMart<BR>>offers is an inferior selection of toys,
most<BR>>of poor<BR>>quality, but it offers them at cheap prices
and<BR>>conveniently locates them between the<BR>>furnace<BR>>filters
and the dog food. My expanded choice<BR>>seems to be mere convenience and
the chance<BR>>to<BR>>buy something crappy and disposable for
my<BR>>kids. It's the bargain that isn't a bargain
--<BR>>it's<BR>>penny-wise and pound-foolish.<BR>><BR>>We have a
WalMart already. We need WalMart<BR>>Supercenters in both Moscow and
Pullman why?<BR>>Because Winco, Rosauers, Safeway, the
Co-Op,<BR>>Dissmore's, the Pullman Safeway, Tri-State,<BR>>Hodgins, Les
Schwab, Bruneel, Sears,<BR>>Deranleau's, Bookpeople, Hastings,
Gottschalk's, the<BR>>Bon,<BR>>Ross Dress for Less, RiteAid,
JoAnn's,<BR>>HyperSpud, Paradise Creek Bicycles, Paradise
Ridge<BR>>Records, Goodwill, Shopko, the Internet, and<BR>>Moscow's
existing WalMart aren't offering us<BR>>enough choice? Or because they're
not offering us enough cheap crap?<BR>><BR>>Joan Opyr/Auntie
Establishment<BR>>www.joanopyr.com<BR>><BR>><BR>>---------------------------------------------<BR>>This
message was sent by First Step
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