What about my wife's store, which carries nothing but used books? You might ask.
Bear with me, as this will require explanation, and perhaps some quibbling over terms.
I think there are two different types of specialty stores.
The first kind is the store that carries a product that only a small fraction of the population is interested in. This is more or less the kind of store that I was talking about in the previous post, the kind of store that I am and am accustomed to.
The other kind of store is the kind that carries a 'commodity' but carries a specialized selection of a commodity.
A commodity is a product that has a wide appeal -- say more than 20% or 30% or 50% or 100% of the population will buy -- bikes, shoes, pants...and I would maintain, books.
The higher the percentage of the populous buys a commodity, the more ways specialty stores can slice it up.
It's different dynamic and one I admittedly don't fully understand.
But based on my wife's store experience, it is a bit easier to maintain a small percentage of a larger group, than a large percentage of a smaller group.
Bear with me, as this will require explanation, and perhaps some quibbling over terms.
I think there are two different types of specialty stores.
The first kind is the store that carries a product that only a small fraction of the population is interested in. This is more or less the kind of store that I was talking about in the previous post, the kind of store that I am and am accustomed to.
The other kind of store is the kind that carries a 'commodity' but carries a specialized selection of a commodity.
A commodity is a product that has a wide appeal -- say more than 20% or 30% or 50% or 100% of the population will buy -- bikes, shoes, pants...and I would maintain, books.
The higher the percentage of the populous buys a commodity, the more ways specialty stores can slice it up.
It's different dynamic and one I admittedly don't fully understand.
But based on my wife's store experience, it is a bit easier to maintain a small percentage of a larger group, than a large percentage of a smaller group.