Larger context for ALWAYS in Corpus brown_strip.txt DBL-CLICK WDS FOR DEF
Fear of the competition- ALWAYS a great motivating force in the American economy- makes retailers who do not have suburban operations exaggerate both the volume and the profitability of their rival's shiny new branches.
The fact seems to be that very many large branch stores are uneconomical, that the choice of location in the suburbs is as important as it was downtown, and that even highly suburbanized cities will support only so many big branches.
Moreover, the cost of operations is ALWAYS high in any new store, as the conservative bankers who act as controllers for retail giants are beginning to discover.
When all has been said, however, the big branch store remains a major break with history in the development of American retailing.
Just as the suburban factory may be more convenient than the downtown plant to the worker with a car, the trip to the shopping center may seem far easier than to the downtown department store, though both are the same distance from home.
