Not surprisingly,we'll generally don't find a ton of great long term stock ideas in retail and consumer services because most economic moats for the sector are extremly narrow, if they exist at all | 15 Consumer Services Not surprisingly we generally don t find a ton of great long-term stock ideas in retail and consumer services because most economic moats for the sector are extremely narrow if they exist at all. The only way a retailer can earn a wide economic moat is by doing something that keeps consumers shopping at its stores rather than at competitors . It can do this by offering unique products or low prices. The former method is tough to do on a large scale because unique products rarely remain unique forever. It s rare to find a retailer or consumer service firm that maintains any kind of economic moat for more than a few years. The few consumer service firms that have established a wide economic moat include Home Depot and Lowe s in the home improvement area Walgreens for prescription drugs and convenience items and Wal-Mart for just about everything. These firms developed distinctive store prototypes that set them apart from their competitors and they now enjoy vast economies of scale that make it tough for competitors to earn consistent profits. Identifying Tom Goetzinger and Carl Sibiiski with Pat Dorsey. 208 consumer services and investing in firms like these at the right price is the best way to make money over the long haul in this classic buy what you know area of the market. Although you can also do well buying high-quality specialty and clothing retailers when the industry sees one of its periodic sell-offs very few of these kinds of firms make great long-term holdings. Companies We See Every Day Most of the companies in the consumer services sector are very familiar We shop at their stores and eat their food just about ever day. The sector contains discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Target drugstores such as Walgreen and CVS clothing stores such as Gap home improvement shops such as Home Depot and Lowe s restaurants such as McDonalds and Outback Steakhouse and scores of other well-known names. Being able to peruse the aisles of these .
