Staying competitive in the face of non-traditional sources is a real market situation for many traditional businesses, including animal health clinics and retailers. Ace Hardware’s president and CEO, John Venhuizen, compared competing with the massive online retailer Amazon to warfare and encouraged Ace store owners to identify areas where they can beat Amazon. They can’t assume old strategies will win new wars, he says.
Some of what he said will prompt ideas that animal health pros can adopt.
Source: Hardware Retailing, March 20, 2017.
Quality, convenience and service are areas Ace stores have to beat Amazon on, he says. “These are the three battles we have to win,” Venhuizen told Ace retailers. “You need to differentiate or you die.”
Here’s what happens when a business doesn’t stay competitive. Source: Washington Post, March 22, 2017.