Emperor hath no clothes

Once again I was reminded of the power of coercive marketing when my 9 year old pointed to racks of the new shorts at the local retailer. It was stocking time for clothing and one item that this old fogey failed to comprehend was the new shorts. I mean they are called Short Shorts. You see you are trying to distinguish between the really short shorts vs. the long shorts that stretch somewhere till the knee / calf vs. the capris that hover between the calf and an unknown portion of the human leg. All this to cover varying degrees of the rear limbs. Yet they all have a place in the so called niche markets they sell. It is like when I first encountered the Diet, Zero Caffiene Cola. I mean at that point it was gas sold in a can..you know no nothing but fizz. People will pay premium for it. At the same time they can be confused by putting too many choices on the shelves too and some retailers choose a different tactic by taking the brand and type decision out of the consumers hand by limiting their SKU (stock keeping units) to a minimum. Costco warehouse locations are an example of this. They however convince the buyer that buying an industrial size ketchup and vinegar container is somehow going to save them money. I am guessing that all those of our species that shop these type of product are also members of the local health club. I mean you do need muscle to manuever a glob of ketchup on your next sandwich from a 8 lb bottle or to get toothpaste out of a tube resembling a baseball bat. Well I exaggerate but you get the point. If only I can come up with something that the masses might like. Or a niche.