The economics of dollar stores
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Fascinating. Dollar stores get a bigger margin on sales (30¢ per dollar) than Target (28¢) and Walmart (24¢).
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My kids used to love those places.
I kind of like shopping there for rubbish - it's always a pleasant surprise when they check you out.
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You're ruining the innocent joy of wandering around and buying crap for cheap without the need to interact with the People of Walmart.
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Dollar General is eating the market alive. You can't swing a dead cat in the rural area down here and not hit one. There are six within 15 miles of my house. Two within four miles.
There are reasons...
- Gas. Why would I drive over twenty miles to the nearest supermarket, when I can pick up a gallon of milk, a five pound bag of flour and a pack of lunchmeat for close to the same price?
- Transportation. It's a lot easier to catch a ride a couple of miles up the road, than into town.
- Food stamps. They take 'em. I often see older people or single moms, actually buying fifty buck worth of groceries.
- Stretching a dollar. So what if the sizes are smaller? Or the house brand isn't great? I've got ten bucks and payday is three days off...I can buy a small bottle of clothes detergent, some shampoo, a two pound bag of flour and a loaf of bread for less than $5. It'll get me by.
- Good enough. Yes, the $5 plastic chairs are pretty crappy, but they'll get me by this summer and two won't cost but $10.
“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion.
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Yeah good points, Jolly. They absolutely fit a segment of the market and they are everywhere!
We go there for things like greeting cards, balloons, summer toys for the kids, even to get a foam mat to kneel on while gardening. All of those items would cost 4-10x more in a normal store.
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We have a fairly large collection of extremely tasteful models of various breeds of dog.
One day, they'll be worth thousands.
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Article about how the growing number of dollar stores is making a unlikely alliance between rural republicans small towns and democrats to stop them because they kill local small businesses.
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/daily-southtown/20230308/281621014551889
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Ain't gonna work.
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@Jolly I agree. I think it is very difficult to zone out one particular brand of store while letting in another.
I have heard of some attempts to only allow stores with a certain corporate revenue of below USD $XX
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Dollar General is eating the market alive. You can't swing a dead cat in the rural area down here and not hit one. There are six within 15 miles of my house. Two within four miles.
There are reasons...
- Gas. Why would I drive over twenty miles to the nearest supermarket, when I can pick up a gallon of milk, a five pound bag of flour and a pack of lunchmeat for close to the same price?
- Transportation. It's a lot easier to catch a ride a couple of miles up the road, than into town.
- Food stamps. They take 'em. I often see older people or single moms, actually buying fifty buck worth of groceries.
- Stretching a dollar. So what if the sizes are smaller? Or the house brand isn't great? I've got ten bucks and payday is three days off...I can buy a small bottle of clothes detergent, some shampoo, a two pound bag of flour and a loaf of bread for less than $5. It'll get me by.
- Good enough. Yes, the $5 plastic chairs are pretty crappy, but they'll get me by this summer and two won't cost but $10.
@Jolly said in The economics of dollar stores:
Dollar General is eating the market alive. You can't swing a dead cat in the rural area down here and not hit one. There are six within 15 miles of my house. Two within four miles.
There are reasons...
- Gas. Why would I drive over twenty miles to the nearest supermarket, when I can pick up a gallon of milk, a five pound bag of flour and a pack of lunchmeat for close to the same price?
- Transportation. It's a lot easier to catch a ride a couple of miles up the road, than into town.
- Food stamps. They take 'em. I often see older people or single moms, actually buying fifty buck worth of groceries.
- Stretching a dollar. So what if the sizes are smaller? Or the house brand isn't great? I've got ten bucks and payday is three days off...I can buy a small bottle of clothes detergent, some shampoo, a two pound bag of flour and a loaf of bread for less than $5. It'll get me by.
- Good enough. Yes, the $5 plastic chairs are pretty crappy, but they'll get me by this summer and two won't cost but $10.
Pssst. Hey guys.
We really need to get together and pool some money to help out 'ol Jolly. He only had 10 bucks, and those crappy lawn chairs are probably busted and stacked next to the kaibo by now. -
Are you kidding? Those lawn chairs are almost $20 now.
They're becoming an investment...
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Heard a comedian recently doing a bit about things Californians could expect when moving to the South. Besides the heat and humidity, expect to be within five miles of a Dollar General. If you aren't, call their hotline and they'll build you one within six weeks.
