Abstract
This paper examines the evolution of the supermarket industry, from the birth of the chain store concept in the early 1900s to the recent rise of the Wal-Mart supercenter. The central message is that the major themes relevant today (the importance of scale and standardization, technological innovation, the introduction of new formats, and the rapt attention of anti-trust authorities) appear throughout its hundred year history. The goal of this paper is to provide a coherent context for current merger policy and broaden our understanding of the processes shaping the economic geography of retail trade.
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