if i can convince you that the food industry is an oligopoly - and, like, read the fucking textbook. that shouldn't be a struggle. that should be an easy concession. - is it possible to convert it into a perfectly competitive market?

no.

it's an oligopoly for a reason.

and perfectly competitive markets are utopian. they're fairy tales. they don't exist in real life. approximations would be on very broad scales, like country a against country b. 

stores across the street from each other are nothing remotely resembling perfect competition. they sell the same shit that they buy from the same suppliers. they're both just factory outlets. 

the competition is between the companies that stock their food on the shelves, not between the stores.