Bloomberg News -- "Target hasn't opened a single store in Canada, and already Wal-Mart wants Canadians to know it's the price leader north of the border. Wal-Mart Canada will lower prices on 10,000 products in July. The company called the sale, which it says will save customers $50 million next month, the biggest in Wal-Mart's 18-year history in Canada.





While Target's Canada debut is at least six months away, part of Wal-Mart's strategy is to get out front in the brand messaging wars. Minneapolis-based Target plans to open more than 100 stores in Canada starting next year. Last year, Target paid $1.85 billion to acquire the leases of as many as 220 Zellers stores, a Canadian discounter, with plans to convert many of them into Targets."





MP: Some of the economic lessons here are: 1) consumer sovereignty, 2) intense "cutthroat" competition is good for consumers, 3) Walmart's everyday low prices provide obvious direct benefits and cost-savings to its own customers, but also provide indirect benefits and cost-savings to all of those customers who may never shop at Walmart and only shop at Target or other retailers. Reason? Walmart's low prices provide a powerful form of price discipline on all of its competitors, who would be able to charge higher prices in the absence of Walmart.



Bottom Line: Walmart is the consumer's BFF, even for those consumers who NEVER shop there.