The owner of a small hardware store-the only one in a medium –sized town in the mountains-has just learned that a large home improvement chain plans to open a new store nearby. How difficulty will it be for the owner to plan for this new competitive threat? Explain your answer
2 answers
The small store can specialize in service that's not available in a large chain store. Our local hardware store has employees who greet customers and help them find what they need -- even if it's only a few small screws. After our recent ice storm that knocked out a lot of electric power, this store used its generator to keep it open to serve customers.
One thing that has happened in some small towns is the big stores are met with resistance if they try to push out a smaller store.