A healthy race?

Yes, it is great to operate under a free-economic system. At the same time, one cannot deny the fact we’re yet in a developmental state of reality, where sometimes one discerns a certain lack of understanding of the general direction of things.
Too much interference is out of place and most of the time, uncalled for. But, raising issues for clarity’s in sake such a growth pattern seems in place when one feels caught up in the operating system of market mechanism; or whenever one sees signs of misdirection.
Competition is the hall-mark of a free-economy, as long as winning the competitive edge to maximize profit is the perceived goal of a business concern. In other words, the secret of it all is to influence the market to one’s own advantage.
There were times in the past particularly, when what was in vogue was what had seemed unhealthy competition among coffee-houses and pastries. The moment one pastry shop opened another soon followed. This was seen all over the places and had created some sensation in the society. People never liked it; Direction givers and business counselors never liked it either. I am still not convinced in these statements.
Yet, without any bias, there seems to be a kind of that sort of trauma today among other businesses. One may be wrong in this assumption; but, a good number of people feel it; and many more endorse it as a healthy race. For all that however, intervention from the right source may be in order after the argument is heard.
Besides, they argue that it does not need any magic wand to feel the present fervent and frantic hustle of some businesses to concentrate on already saturated and overcrowded areas, taking into account the present level and state of market development and where gaps are never filled. The competitors’ situation does no seem to be any better than the example given in the pastries’ case. Will it not then be preferable to consider the spread out of rival companies particularly in the capital city, on the basis of decision by a consortium of similar organizations, rather than spontaneous decision of an individual organization, if it works at all.
In other words, identifying locations for business presence being inevitable, some observe that it is time for those in the profession to get together and search ways and methods how to penetrate the urban and rural life proportionately, in the light of the urge for faster economic growth without affecting competition.
While market demands are the main consideration, customers’ preferences should also be taken into account, too. It seems evident profits are optimized in highly lucrative urban centers where high-rises concentrate rather than anywhere else. Yet, other preferences could prevail at the same time, such as easy accessibility, less traffic concentration, ample parking facilities, colorful residential quarters, etc.; gas-stations can provide good examples for alternative decisions.
Some people fear in what I designate “healthy race?”, the clustering of similar businesses around one building or another cheek-by-jowl gives the of feeling that one business is chasing its rivals disproportionately at a time no apparent need and where ample opportunity to design a better approach for mutually equitable optimization of profit without losing market leadership exists.
While location exploitation is a perfect marketing mechanism, our current level of growth perhaps, may not truly warrant the present intense competition among a few of the same kinds of businesses. Yes it is true that in the industrialized countries or in a sophisticated consumer society where the standard of living is from medium to high, similar business institutions crowd the same quarters to influence market share. It will be no wonder if we reach that stage in a short period of the new millennium’s first years. How we would love for that to happen!
In the meanwhile however, will there not be another approach rather than maintaining the status quo by saying, ‘have courage and a healthy-race.’? One thing is evident and this is that customers follow the image of businesses may serve as stabilizers of confidence for the day.