Guess what, superior customer service and knowing your customers needs wins out.  Just ask the folks of Home Depot #4552 who got beat by the little guy across the street.  From the Boston Globe

He and his brothers, who’ve operated their store for 35 years, had heard the stories about big-box stores and their low prices driving competitors into the ground.

So the store stuck to what it does best – good customer service, competitive prices, and a willingness to stock the hard-to-find parts that folks never seemed to find at the big building with the orange roof.

Four years later, it’s Fireside True Value that’s still standing.

“I’ve had a lot of customers come in and say ‘You guys put them under,’ ” said St. John.

Read the whole story here…