You're Damn Right "Survival of the Fittest"

Okay, that last post was depressing, so how about something positive? On the front page of today's WSJ, I spotted this feature. It tells a heart-warming tale of a well-run business taking advantage of other firms' shortcomings in an economic downturn, seizing opportunity wherever it appears, even if the article's author sounds like he would have supported the "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule." It starts like this:

Roy Calcagne offers a simple explanation for why, in the midst of a grueling downturn, his company is selling more sofas and love seats than before."

We're stealing market share," says the chief executive of Craftmaster Furniture Inc., a maker of upholstered pieces with two large factories here.

Huh, imagine that. While I hardly think Mr. Calcagne really thinks of his firm's actions as theft, the article's author seems to take those words to heart. The tone of the piece implies that existing firms have a right to their market share, and that there's something unwholesome about Craftmaster's attempts to unseat their larger rivals, like they should be gracious in their limited success.

Nevertheless, this is still a story to provide some more intellectual ammunition for those of us who respect business as value creation, and want to know that that practice still exists in this country.