But while a few well-funded juggernauts, like Flipkart, have succeeded in establishing brands and conquering large parts of the market, none of the major players have shown a profit, and few have even shown enough revenues to cover overhead after the cost of goods and deliveries.

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In some ways, that effect is more pronounced than it used to be, with more and more of the elites drawn from a narrow class of extremely well-educated people from a handful of metropolitan areas, few of whom have ever, say, been responsible for a profit and loss statement, or tried to bring a gas station into compliance with local and federal EPA regulations.

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Northampton are one of the few English clubs to turn over a profit, have a committed and passionate support and an expensive and cosmopolitan squad.

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Just a few years back, GM would have been thrilled with that level of profit.

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All this means that few of the investments made by private firms in developing countries' water businesses have yet turned a profit.

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