Comments on: How much money do retailers really make?

By: Austin

Austin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:57:52 +0000

The Wal-Mart Effect is a great book that kind of goes along the lines of this post. It’s a good read for both the Wal-Mart hater and lover in your family. I would definitely recommend it.

Austin @ Foreigner’s Finances

By: Weakonomics Links: Anatomy of a Sucker | Weakonomi¢s

Weakonomics Links: Anatomy of a Sucker | Weakonomi¢s — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:16:38 +0000

[...] Thicken My Wallet includes an analysis of how much money clothing retailers make. Think you’re getting taken to the poor house with the high margins on clothes? You’d be surprise how little they actually make. [...]

By: The Rat

The Rat — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:59:19 +0000

Some retailers rally have to suffer it out, particularly during a market meltdown and consumer spending falls off a cliff. On the other hand, one retire I have to admire is how Wal-Mart is able to squeeze so many of their suppliers on their profit margins in order to get the best available price. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and competition is fierce.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:55:44 +0000

Riscario: SB is publicly traded. Let me look this up. I did hear from a Second Cup franchisee once they had to sell a cup of coffee every 40 some odd seconds to break even (this was years ago).

By: Riscario Insider | @riscario

Riscario Insider | @riscario — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:50:16 +0000

E-tailers can offer a much wider selection and are less likely to run out of stock. That is worth something (even if it does not cost the retailer anything). In some ways, there is more competition online if you are buying a product that other retailers sell (e.g., a printer). You can easily compare prices and order from other provinces. Sites with “free shipping” are effectively selling for less than a bricks & mortar store.

I wonder what margins are like at a place like Starbucks and on vehicles built on the same platform (e.g., Volkswagen Tourareg, Audi Q9, Porsche Cayenne).