Wobbles

Economic shifts are the wobbles to which I refer. YouTube videos are common with details explaining how various industries are declining. For example, grocery stores are reported to be in decline. However, with a growing population more groceries will be sold than ever before. The kind of products and where they are bought and sold may change, but the overall sales will continue to grow.

That’s the way it is. Some grocery chains have invested heavily in low-income areas and now find that operating costs place that investment in danger. So, they build other stores and close a few. This is not a collapse of the industry. It is only an internal operating adjustment. For the shoppers at a particular store, the change feels very different, of course. Still, the industry is doing fine,

Same with restaurant chains. Some chains have made some bad decisions, and they waited too long to correct them. Red Lobster is such a chain; they lost money on some promotions and now have a huge problem to solve, mostly because they didn’t fix the problem earlier. Like the grocery chain example, some restaurants over time find themselves in the wrong location. Local markets change continually as local employment and housing demands shift. Consumers come and go, and with that declines in one customer base while another base grows.

Small businesses will tell you the same story over and over again. Market wobbles are part and parcel of daily business. Who is buying and what, when and where are elements constantly changing. Knowing that market is key to thriving or not for the entrepreneur.

Business analysts abuse their followers if they make conclusions from incomplete and false data. It is time we held their feet to the fire on this issue.

The rest of us – the readers – need to be careful consumers of information. Are we looking at the larger picture? Are we asking questions that lead us to accurate conclusions as to the factual basis of an analysts’ opinion? Consider the bankers making decisions on loan applications. They don’t weigh business data lightly. They make bets on the survivability of the loan applicant based on myriad details. They see the micro market issues and shifts. They are not looking at the entire industry’s survivability unless it bodes ill very soon.

Our consumption of business analysis needs to be as accurate as the bankers'.

Wobbles are everywhere all the time. Understand their extent and meaning. Do your own thinking. And conclusions.

December 10, 2025