> They are starting from scratch, all they have is physical locations. And presumably infrastructure to manage those locations.

I don't know if you know this, but that's actually kind of a big deal. Nationally distributed brick-and-mortar stores with logistics and connections in place to supply these locations are expensive and time consuming to stand up.

Those locations and logistical infrastructure could be a huge opportunity for them to pivot with, or you could think of it like collateral/capital that they could liquidate for pivoting in a different direction.

> No software teams, no user base, 0

Believe it or not, not every business has to have teams of software people churning out gamified node apps.

Not every company needs to start with a user base to abuse and exploit in order to be successful, and not every company needs to become the next Amazon/Google/Tesla in order to be successful and contribute in a meaningful and sustainable way to the economy and provide value for customers.

I sincerely hope you don't approach every challenge you meet in life with the same defeatist attitude. Use your imagination and don't give up!