What is it about egos and market-share-at-all-costs that suppresses judgment?! Are the "Big Guys" nuts?!
This Thanksgiving weekend exposed the worst strategic thinking by retail CEO's that we've ever witnessed. In fact, we call this phenomenon "The Bezos Laugh-A-Thon." Jeff and his Amazon team must have sore sides by now.
So spooked are major retailers about Amazon's growing market share that common sense seems to have evaporated. Just imagine all the additional direct and indirect expenses that opening on Thanksgiving Day must have generated. All to protect their market share!
Remember, "the pie isn't getting bigger!" All this has done is "time shift" that shopping. The media loved it, but the shareholders should be appalled.
So spooked are major retailers about Amazon's growing market share that common sense seems to have evaporated. Just imagine all the additional direct and indirect expenses that opening on Thanksgiving Day must have generated. All to protect their market share!
Remember, "the pie isn't getting bigger!" All this has done is "time shift" that shopping. The media loved it, but the shareholders should be appalled.
Two outcomes of this misjudgment seem predictable:
- Continuing a recent trend, sales over the next two weeks will be much lower than last year. Customers have just so much to spend, especially in this difficult economy.
- Each year, no publicly-traded retailer can tolerate sales being lower than last year. For shame! So next year, look for openings at noon(!) on Thanksgiving.
