I have always pointed out in my books
that competition is generally rare in business in spite of the
erroneous view perpetrated by nearly everyone.
Small business people, given the chance, fight viciously to keep other businesses like themselves out of town or out of the neighborhood. They are wrong.
People prefer to shop where there is a variety of choice. Four shoe stores are more appealing than one and the total volume is higher for four together than for four separate shoe stores.
Shopping malls learned that lesson quite some time ago. They often have two or three of the same genera of stores.
Here is someone who just learned it and it is reported in the press: “Nowhere is that clearer than on Subway’s monthly sales charts, which frequently are unaffected even after a Quiznos opens nearby, said Fred DeLuca, Subway’s founder and president.
"How can that be?" he said. "Where did all the sandwich customers come from?"
The answer, he said, is that despite the presence of 18,000 Subway restaurants nationwide, the sandwich market remains underserved. Quiznos is bringing new customers to the market, which in turn benefits Subway.”
