"Know your enemy, and in 100 battle...

"Know your enemy, and in 100 battles you will not ever be defeated."

--Sun Tsu from Art of War

common of my neighbors manages a store for a large residence improvement chain. Recently, we were talking about competition and I asked him if he at all times went into the stores of his competitors. His answer surprised me: "At least three times a week."

I shouldn't have been surprised. In so a highly competitive environment as domicile improvement, it is crucial to have a handle onward the competition. Then again, knowing the areas where your competition does well and where they ne improvement