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Being Nimble

At the local Wal-Mart, I recently noticed something new. An area full of colorful displays seemed to have been carved out in the middle of the store. You walked in out of curiosity to find a slew of stuff priced between 50 cents and a dollar. If you were planning to swing by the neighborhood Dollar Tree later, Wal-Mart had just saved you the trip along with some change.

Not too long ago, I was reading that the only credible competition to Wal-Mart comes from the dollar stores. This appeared to be a move to make inroads into that segment. A few days later the display was gone. I figured it was a teaser campaign. Maybe it will be back again to research the market in a different set of conditions. Over time, we as consumers will determine if it is worthwhile for Wal-Mart to get into dollar store space. We will possibly help eliminate the only competition there exists in our quest to stretch a dollar past break point.

While Wal-Mart can be faulted for a lot, the lack of nimbleness at middle-age is certainly not one of its failings. Tremors must be going through the collective heart of the banking industry now that Wal-Mart wants to play in their sandbox.

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