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I'll start off by saying that this is just my opinion and in no way is any person or company reflected in this story connected to real life scenarios.,
Let's begin, It is 2018 and Jimmy Martin and his son Harry are waiting for their car to be fixed at the local mechanic shop. While waiting for the car they decided to check out
the Local Toy store "Toys For You". It just so happened that the toy store was in the midst of closing. Mr. Martin asked the employee a young man in his late 20's what had happened?
The man replied. "well sir, you see the company is going out of business." To which Mr. Martin replied. Well, how long will the store be open? The young employee shook his head.
"well we don't have any idea actually, we've been told it could be as soon as next month". No severance, not much notice. "I'm actually not sure what I am going to do?
Mr. Martin shook his head and sympathized with the young employee. Thinking back a few years to the day of his lay off from the company he spent 27 years working for.
He could almost feel the sting of the pink slip a little still. "Well, you'll be better off, you'll find somewhere that will treat you better. You'll see." But the truth was
Mr. Martin had seen this before and what was to come. Harry Picked out a couple toys at a bargain and then He and his father paid for their things and left the store.
Three weeks later it had officially hit the news regarding the store closings and the entire Toy company was going out of business.
Only the news that followed was of not much surprise and had been anticipated back on that day in the toy store. The headline reads CEO's and executives at Toys For You receive
Multi-Billion dollar bonuses after the company shut down. Mr. Martin sat and thought about his own growing up. Going to the very same stores with his Grandparents as a child
and picking out a toy and marveling at all the wonders of "Toy Land". Gone are the days of the Mega shopping complexes at every corner. Here were the days of the soon impending
urban sprawl of abandoned shopping centers with the cracked and overgrown pavement. Sad to see the decline of an entire sector get overtaken by a handful of corporate elites and mega-chain giants.
Which brings us to our next section which I will dub "Option A" with retail on the decline due to higher internet sales and the markets being overtaken by a "few" strong companies, (Cheapbay or pen15% pal or Amazicon) and in some cases 1 company like the internet service provider (Spector). Complete control is given to the elites who sit in their office chairs playing virtual chess with competitors, all while formulating back alley deals that would be considered unfair alliances by any standards or laws today. These decisions and backhanded deals affect the everyday life of regular people.
But this was the sad reality for the Martin's and all the other people in Yousville. The choice was starting to become narrowingly clear. It was either option A or B, and option C was on the edge of a giant cliff and hanging on for dear life.
"Option B" or otherwise known as the corporate chain store (Walbart) or the other few corporate chain types that were still left. Don't get me wrong. Walbart was great!
It was a fascinating experience at first. Get almost everything you need all in one place. All while saving $ on your favorite brands? Yes. This was the almighty WALBARTS!
But what was great for people at first, may not have ended up as being great for the local economy in the bigger picture. Many niche business's couldn't compete with the low mark up high volume business model. Causing them to close their doors for good and in some cases involved families losing everything or filing bankrupt and starting over. Yes, the aftermath was not particularly pretty.
After winning the markets Wallbarts was facing its own trouble at showing profit due to lower sales volumes due to struggles in the local economies. People desperately trying to save money were more often turning to.. wait for it "option A" online shopping. The convenience of shopping from a home computer or even a mobile phone was becoming too easy and the very same low mark up high volume strategy was being implemented on a much larger scale. This becomes a problem for the future for obvious reasons. As more and more people sign on for the option of convenience at a saving. The more people become bound by this system after intertwining. Jobs that are being created are doing the work of 8-10 previous employees due to the rise of automation and advancement of robotics. Leaving people with less and fewer career options. Less and less job security. Less and fewer jobs period. No jobs = no money. It doesn't take a scientist to figure that out.
So, in short, the less power the public has financially in the market, the less power the people have to sway the prices or a companies business practices due to healthy competition. In fact, taking the power away from the people to make consumer decisions. Who will be left standing? Will it be Amazicon doing the work of 100,000 stores with 10% of the employees? Controlling 100% of the cost of living? Is such a system able to endure or is an entire system reboot inevitable? Mr. Martin thought to himself a moment. "Maybe the change of the direction starts with me" For I am responsible for my actions and surroundings." Do I go with the flow and join the heard being lead to their inevitable slaughter. Or do I make a stampede by spooking the pack and smash the gates down
in large numbers swaying the direction of the heard, thereby firmly securing the heard's future freedom by choosing as a community? I wondered, or is it already too late?!