[alephnerd]

> So maybe when you stop being customer centric and become corporate profit centric you end up losing customers first and profits later

You can be customer centric AND profit centric. The issue is when "customer centric" doesn't align with "profit".

Big box and chain retailers often try to own the property the store is located on, so they would essentially become a property speculation play.

Add to that the cost of managing inventory, which means you want to reduce the amount of SKUs offered in order to reduce management overhead, but as a customer that feels like an adverse customer experience. Yet unlike a local business, that chain retailer cannot optimize on customer service because of those thin margins needed to service real estate.