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They have driven prices and competition down so far that very few can compete with them. The quality of much of their merchandise in my experience has been less that acceptable.
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Isn't this self contradictory? If the quality is crap, they'll only succeed in capturing the market that was previously overpaying for their crap. This is a net benefit to society.
Everybody needs low quality crap sometimes. When I want crap tools, I'm glad Harbor Freight is around. I wasn't going to buy the $500 Porter Cable version anyway, so it's not like Harbor Freight cost them a sale. When I want commodity housewares, Wal-Mart is great. Why pay another chain store more for the same item?
If Wal-Mart puts the screws to othe mega chains, like supermarkets and Toys-R-Us, good for them. If a small mom-and-pop retailer can't figure out how to compete on anything except price, they were doomed anyway.
Edit: Kurt is spot-on. Many of the so-called "pillars of the community" local retailers routinely abuse their customers with high prices and poor selection and service. I can think of no better way to make them appreciate their customers and go the extra mile in customer service than a Wal-Mart opening down the street.