You worked at discount retailers. Even grocery stores rely on the sheer amount of volume they process to allow for low markups and to sell the large amounts of perishable food they have in stock. Stores that don't rely on volume rely on markup, and it commonly starts at 200% and goes higher. Where I work now some of the retail markups average over 500%, and on occasion top 1000%. And we even markup less then the larger chains. While the smaller shops and boutiques that surround us all markup similar to us. As for grocery chains, there is one in Minnesota that has a markup ~100% and higher, and it thrives because it is considered a glamorous place to shop. It caters to people with money, and because of that has filled a niche in the market. You might think discount retailers are the be all end all of retail, but that is hardly the case. BTW, why are they called discount retailers? Because they offer a discount off of the industry standard markup, which is 200%. I get this from working in retail for over the past decade, including running a store.