[1296] Of why Tesco and Carrefour are selling Hairy Potty at a discount?

The news:

KUALA LUMPUR: As avid fans of Harry Potter await the highly-anticipated finale scheduled to be released for sale at 7.01am today, a price war has brought about an unexpected twist — four major bookstore chains have decided to not sell the book.

MPH, Popular, Times and Harris bookstores have decided to withdraw the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows novel from their shelves in protest against Tesco and Carrefour’s move in selling the novel at a much cheaper price of RM69.90. The retail price of the book is RM109.90. [Harry Potter and the ugly price war. The Star. July 21 2007]

One word: traffic.

Both retailers may not make any profit out of those books in particular but the traffic the books attract would more than make up any loss.

This same tactic is utilized by all similar retailers on certain vegetables. They do not make profits on those vegetables but the traffic those greens bring get other goods moving.