There are some areas Wal-Mart really can't compete in because their business model doesn't allow for it. Around the DC area, we have Wal-Mart, but we also have a very succesful high-end food chain called Whole Foods. The type of people who shop at Whole Foods aren't going to go shopping at Wal-Mart for their organic food needs.
Wal-Mart can beat anyone on price, true, but price isn't everything.
Wal-Mart can beat anyone on price, true, but price isn't everything.
The crowd to whom price isn't everything is a tiny percentage. In a large metro area, sure, the ultra-specialized businesses that are run right can make it because even a small percentage of the whole still constitutes a large enough customer base. Not in small towns.
Just keep an eye on the ever-expanding Wal-Mart selection. Twenty years ago, if you wanted a nice TV, you went to a consumer electronics store. Ten years ago, you went to Circuit City as the indies were by and large fading into the sunset. Now you can buy HDTV plasma at Wal-Mart, and for the vast majority of people, those models are good enough. And that is of course just one category of merchandise. The trend applies to many others.
MM