No one wants to waste their weekend in a crowded store looking for things that are easily found online at the best prices. Everything is stacked against them and it appears that profit will be virtually impossible to achieve. In fact, the only thing we know for certain is that many shareholders will end up holding worthless shares of these companies because most off-line businesses, for want of customers, will soon stand empty and boarded over. This Fool column serves to remind us that it's usually a new method or approach to business that is criticized, no matter its merits, and that any new approach to business is open to criticism. Even leading off-line booksellers have been excellent investments.
Criticism is easy, though, and it's the path too often taken by journalists and market pundits.
It takes work to imagine possibilities, while it's easy to criticize or simply doubt. Surely many online companies will fail, just as many off-line companies do, but there's room for plenty of success, too. The Motley Fool. All rights reserved.