Very good points, and I am not defending Midway just providing rationale.
I agree that they probably have grown too large of an inventory. The result is a slower web site, bigger printing costs, and more inventory costs for a big catalog. Although the marketing philosophy behind a big catalog is that if it is on your shelf taking up a footprint then it is probably the one you will turn too. Also, your catalog will try to make some information "folksy" to make you (the customer) feel comfortable/personal with the business. That logic is becoming less important as the WEB becomes a primary way of browsing and ordering. But no doubt if Midway outsources their printing, the cost of printing and shipping that honkin catalog is probably about $10-12 per catalog...Nice for you guys that like to sit on the white throne perusing the reloading products.... (By the way, that Website you all love to browse and compare to, costs big bucks.)
Sears'large inventory vs Midway's is an apple and orange comparison. Sears has the distribution centers and many outlets to have a fast turn of inventory. That means they get their money back much quicker and can purchase in volume (including from low cost regions like China). Midway is one place that is its own warehouse and outlet.
So to maintain the traditional high level of customer satisfaction that they taught you to expect when they were a smaller business now requires that they stock more inventory...i.e. more money tied up. But being who they are they can't turn that around as quick. One reason that Lee products are a good bargain there is because they most likely have a faster return time so Midway can affort to have a lower cost. Plus they know that reloaders may go to their catalog more often that way. Kinda like a loss-leader item in a supermarket. They put the milk at a low price to get you into the store knowing that a lot of you will buy other things (at a higher price) while you are there.
Midway as it has gotten larger, because they did a good job for you, now may be hitting the wall...Getting larger means more headcount to pay salaries and benefits for, more square footage needed, more inventory, etc.....Boom, prices start increasing just to make the margins needed. Items that don't sell as often...maybe they don't keep as much in inventory hoping that when you order that particular item, you will be patient while they restock.
Look at it this way. A lot of you readers have some firearm, say a Mosin, that you bought at Big 5 or another place because it was a bargain. Let's say you paid $105 (gun + sales tax) and put it on your Visa Card. That money and future money (being paid in your monthly payment to Visa) could have been used to invest to make more money. But all of your money is tied up in stuff...the Mosin. As a result you may not have a good retirement plan going because your extra money is tied up in "bargains"....Midway has probably realized they have a lot of money tied up and are not seeing the returns they used to.
Obviously they will have to adapt to survive.
I agree that they probably have grown too large of an inventory. The result is a slower web site, bigger printing costs, and more inventory costs for a big catalog. Although the marketing philosophy behind a big catalog is that if it is on your shelf taking up a footprint then it is probably the one you will turn too. Also, your catalog will try to make some information "folksy" to make you (the customer) feel comfortable/personal with the business. That logic is becoming less important as the WEB becomes a primary way of browsing and ordering. But no doubt if Midway outsources their printing, the cost of printing and shipping that honkin catalog is probably about $10-12 per catalog...Nice for you guys that like to sit on the white throne perusing the reloading products.... (By the way, that Website you all love to browse and compare to, costs big bucks.)
Sears'large inventory vs Midway's is an apple and orange comparison. Sears has the distribution centers and many outlets to have a fast turn of inventory. That means they get their money back much quicker and can purchase in volume (including from low cost regions like China). Midway is one place that is its own warehouse and outlet.
So to maintain the traditional high level of customer satisfaction that they taught you to expect when they were a smaller business now requires that they stock more inventory...i.e. more money tied up. But being who they are they can't turn that around as quick. One reason that Lee products are a good bargain there is because they most likely have a faster return time so Midway can affort to have a lower cost. Plus they know that reloaders may go to their catalog more often that way. Kinda like a loss-leader item in a supermarket. They put the milk at a low price to get you into the store knowing that a lot of you will buy other things (at a higher price) while you are there.
Midway as it has gotten larger, because they did a good job for you, now may be hitting the wall...Getting larger means more headcount to pay salaries and benefits for, more square footage needed, more inventory, etc.....Boom, prices start increasing just to make the margins needed. Items that don't sell as often...maybe they don't keep as much in inventory hoping that when you order that particular item, you will be patient while they restock.
Look at it this way. A lot of you readers have some firearm, say a Mosin, that you bought at Big 5 or another place because it was a bargain. Let's say you paid $105 (gun + sales tax) and put it on your Visa Card. That money and future money (being paid in your monthly payment to Visa) could have been used to invest to make more money. But all of your money is tied up in stuff...the Mosin. As a result you may not have a good retirement plan going because your extra money is tied up in "bargains"....Midway has probably realized they have a lot of money tied up and are not seeing the returns they used to.
Obviously they will have to adapt to survive.
