Discussion: the 4 item rule in retail outlets

[baz]

Just raising a discussion about the 4 item rule that applys to retail outlets and the reasonaning behind it.
We all know that large retail shops sell everything under one roof and these same retail giants, may have multiple shops in the same city, depending on the size of the city. Originally in the Cap series you could drill down to the shop floor, so you could see for yourself, the bottle necks that were occuring, but that now isnt an option in CAPLAB. Which I don't mind as I only ever used it when I first started playing CAP in 95, and don't miss it. And really it was cosmetic more than anything. I did look at it in CAP 2, but again just to see the graphical improvement.
Is it a hard encoded piece of programming that can't be changed?
Is it employment, as you could equally apply the same employment of 10 stores to 1. Is it retail store types, you can still have different stores that specialise in selling cars or kids toys ect? The competition can still have multiple stores.

It would make the possibilty of selling over the interent harder, as the 4 item rule would have to apply too, if it is that this could be incorperated into the game, Although this isn't a discussion regarding that at all.

Just interested on this rule, and could it be changed?
Perhaps Cap gamers wouldn't want the change, although it's not a discussion about that, at this point either. I personally don't think that a change, would alter the checks and balances of the game, maybe i'm wrong.

David, looking forward to reading your thoughts and comments as ever. I've stated at the top, it's a discussion open to anyone, But I would like Enlights take on this, to find there reasoning behind it.

[chrishaas61]

Hi Baz,

I have always thought it would be neat to make simple Walmarts for the retail side and focus more on manufacturing or sourcing the products. The biggest thing is that it would completely change the dynamics of the game. It would be very important to make it difficult to make a lot of money on each item. Looking at the real Walmart's profit margins, you will find they are always well below 10%. So if more retail slots were provided, the program should make certain the margins are very low on these chain stores regardless of branding. Also, the footprint of the store should be massive and expensive to encourage the construction of niche stores until you have the financial backing to build a Walmart.

Hope this adds to your discussion.

~Chris