Big Fish Eat Big Fish Too...

Last night, on the way home from the office I started reading Confronting Reality, the newest book from Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy. Upon arriving home, I was elated to discover that the December edition of Fast Company had arrived.

Great, Kyle is a nerd.. No, there is an interesting point. According to Confronting Reality and Fortune Magazine, the 10 biggest megachains in the US account for 80% of the average manufacturer's business, which is up from 30% a decade ago. One can only imagine that this type of 'consolidation' is affecting the buying habits of consumers as well.

Coincidentally, in Fast Company, there is an article highlighting the struggle that Toys "R" Us is facing (note: according to Fast Company, Toys "R" Us created the term "Category Killer") in their competition with Powerhouse Wal*Mart. I wonder if there is a term for a Category-Killer-KILLER? At this point, perhaps in the same way you 'google' people, you can say that a company was Wal*Mart-ed.

The point is, Mega Chains, are not only killing off many local and mid-size companies, they are now starting to turn on each other. Is resistance futile? Will everything be assimilated? Probably not. There will be a few major players..

I hate to sound like a futurist.. but what is next? Will companies like Amazon.com win out over Wal*Mart - as they have no limitation on size of inventory? Will box stores get even bigger? Entire Bass Pro Shops and Linens 'n Things in the respective sports and homefurnishing sections in a Wal*Martopolis? Who knows, just know one thing.. size is not a strategy. Great products, great services, great experiences are your only hope. Everything else is just kid stuff..