A decision that probably was made by some twenty-something marketing genius who wants
the money

Doubtful. As they said in their press release, the grocery business
has changed dramatically in the last 28 years, mostly due to the "Wal-
Mart-ization" of the business.

Back when they started sponsoring the Red Barons, vendors had a great
deal of autonomy and control in the marketplace. With WalMart's entry
into the grocery world, that changed.

WalMart is famous for driving the absolute lowest price from their
vendors, and ruthlessly slashing them if they don't comply with their
draconian demands. Since that would mean a loss of millions of
dollars, the vendors are compelled to bow to their wishes -- at nearly
any cost.

As a former vendor of WalMart, I absolutely despise their business
tactics (they STILL owe me money, six years after I closed that
business -- they didn't get to be the world's largest company by
paying their bills on time) -- but it's hard to argue with their
results at the consumer level. If you want to save money on food (or
just about anything else), WalMart is your store. And millions of
Americans shop there every day.

Bottom line: Red Baron pizzas used to be a LOT more profitable for
Schwans, which left some bucks for the flight team. Those days, and
those profits, are gone.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"