Re: The Wal-mart Effect

[John Dowd <jsdwd@comcast.net>]

Considering writing below, I think I'd like to attack the premise.

There are two points to be made.

First one of the central tenets of modern quality control is that the idea
that one must choose between quality and price presents a false and
unnecessary choice.  Lower quality is not necessarily less expensive, nor
does high quality necessarily cost more.

Second one cannot consider quality without some sense of cost and
conversely, looking at price without any knowledge of quality is
meaningless.  What is at play here is 'value'.  Value is the combination of
price and quality and value is the factor on which people place their buying
decision.

5 cents a pound for tomatoes is a great price; unless they're spoiled.  A
100% cotton Oxford style shirt with a high thread count can cost as much as
$100.  Is it worth it?  Price and quality must be considered together to
have meaning and each person and each situation will have a different
solution unless the choice is obvious.

But what about a Camry?  Competitive price and superior quality.  The choice
becomes more clear and Camry captures the market.

John Dowd
jsdwd@comcast.net