Gareth ...
Totally agree with you on the big box stores.
BUT ... stores like Walmart DO have an agenda. Walmart is SO big that they can (and do) dictate what the consumers will buy, rather than the other way around.
Case in point are books. We are now at the point where if Walmart doesn't like a particular author -- or even a particular passage in an author's book -- it will pressure publishers (even big publishers like Simon & Schuster). Is this because of public demand or what it thinks its customers want? HELL NO. They know full well that in MOST of their markets they're the ONLY game in town, and they can and will dictate what they feel is "best" for the consumer.
It's downright disgusting. It's essentially free market capitalism turned rancid.
