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RE: Amazon is actually the weakest of the big U.S. retailers, Moody’s says
Um, okay, but the chart of Walmart versus Amazon for the past 20 years is ridiculous. Amazon didn't exist 20 years ago. Walmart did.
you might want to double check that.
Yes, I know you are correct that they technically existed since 1994, but most households did not have the Internet back then. It is was in the days of dial-up and Sprynet Mosaic browser. The wen was primitive. Many people didn't even know how to use a computer or have them in their homes at that point. I don't think that Internet selling came into prevalence until the early 2000's. Even then, Amazon was most still selling books and E-bay online auctions were probably used more than amazon because there was a wider range of stuff.
I guess my point is that I think a 20 year comparison is asymmetric and something like a 10 year comparison would be more intellectually honest. Plus you're comparing a company that was literally in its infancy and growing/developing along with the internet to Walmart which was established in 1962.
Now if you wanted to use a chart comparing Walmart for 20 years starting in 1962-1982 versus Amazon from 1994-2014, then that would be a more honest comparison.
I understand what you're saying but you're kind of missing the point of the article. There is much hype about this merger with whole foods is going to kill Walmart and this guy from Moodys is saying don't hold your breath. Whole foods isn't even a close competitor to Walmart and he is pointing out some important facts that other people haven't looked at or just plainly ignored to hype the story even more.
One of the things that Walmart did to kill its own competitors like Kmart was to add food to its stores. Before Walmart started selling groceries, with the creation of the Super Center Walmarts, it was nothing special. Selling food accomplished the goal of getting people into their stores and made it a one stop shopping destination, especially since most people shop for food at least once a week. This vastly increased their sales.
With the purchase of Whole Foods, Amazon is following Walmarts business model. Whether they will succeed or not, is too soon to sell. But I would not count Amazon out just yet. And I don't particularly like Amazon... they are only slightly behind Facebook and Google in the race to be the most evil company in existence.