Why is it that, despite being so enormous, superstores actually seem to stock a very small range of items?

All I wanted was something to clean the black mould off the sealant in a shower room. I would have thought that my mother’s local B&Q (larger than Mole Valley Farmers) would have had several varieties of products for sale. Not a chance  – they just had one and that was sold out! Why is it that so many chain stores don’t seem to be able to implement a proper stock control and reordering system. With modern IT and logistics systems there should be no excuse for running out of anything.

Similarly I went into the mega Asda just opposite the B&Q to buy some shoe polish. I expected to see racks and racks of the stuff in different colours and from different suppliers.

Again not a chance! The (somewhat fuzzy) picture above shows the entire stock of shoe related items in a store the size of the central car park in South Molton. If you want shoe polish, the second shelf down is it! Kiwi in either black or neutral.