87% of marke chare in america is discounters. The competition was so low that you totally could just do this for reference, walmart probably has a gross margin between 20 and 24 % at any given time. And every store had like a 33 % gross margin. Even the like target, its sort of like a high end discounter. It's kind of like a nicer stuff, more expensive. They're in the 29 % category. But everyone was 33 % or above gross margin at this point in history.
We kick off Season 11 with the incredible story of the retail “granddaddy of them all” Walmart, and its founder Sam Walton. Once you study Walmart, you realize just how deep its heritage runs through Amazon and so many iconic modern companies we cover on Acquired. This episode was an absolute blast, and we even uncovered a new addendum to the hallowed “focus on what makes your beer taste better” playbook theme!
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