[jon_richards]

The market cares about dollar returned vs dollar-x-time invested. A shoe sits on a shelf until it is sold. If it costs 1.5 times as much to stock a store with shoes, then you need to earn 1.5 times as much money after the same time-delay.

Think in the extreme. $1 billion can probably earn more in a saving account than as a shoe that generates $50 profit after 2 weeks.