Word: marteli
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...Heaven’s sake, leave the Puritans alone. In a Dec. 4 column in The Washington Post bewailing the violent commercialization of Christmas (literally violent: apparently, Wal-Mart shoppers recently trampled a woman in their quest to buy bargain-priced DVD players), George Will unimaginatively blames the Puritans for the carnage...
Some analysts say because Wal-Mart started discounting so early and so deeply, it may already be experiencing shortages. A pre-Thanksgiving survey of several Wal-Mart stores, conducted by investment firm Harris Nesbitt Gerard, showed the retailer has been "chronically out of key items," including Bratz dolls, Hot Wheels TWrecks and Hulk Hands. Toys "R" Us, which has nearly matched Wal-Mart's prices on many of those hot items, has so far remained better stocked, though the crucial test will come in mid-December when last-minute shoppers scramble to find the toy their kid must have...
Longer term, there's little question that Wal-Mart has gained an edge. Its share of the $25 billion traditional toy business has grown from 10.8% in 1993 to 21% today (and some analysts estimate it's more like 25%). Toys "R" Us, KB Toys and smaller toy chains, meanwhile, have either lost share, quit the business or struggled to hold ground. Says analyst Todd Kuhrt of Midwest Research, "It's clear that consumers are voting with their wallets for Wal-Mart and Target...
TROUBLES IN TOYLAND Wal-Mart launches a holiday price war, and other toy merchants fire back...
...free trade is to allow economies to specialize in what they do best. Neither imports nor exports are intrinsically good or bad, though hard-pressed American consumers could be forgiven for wondering what a Commerce Secretary who wants to increase the prices of their shopping baskets at Wal-Mart has been smoking. (The giant retailer expects to buy $15 billion of products from China this year.) If the quota limits Wal-Mart's supply of goods, then the Chinese-made robe you were going to buy Aunt Jane for Christmas might not be there...