Dollar Tree Raising Prices

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Alpha8472
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Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Alpha8472 »

Dollar Tree is raising prices to $1.25 or $1.50. More stores will add more items in the $3 to $5 range.

They say sales numbers were higher at stores that charged more.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by BillyGr »

Just FYI - this looks to have posted twice for some reason.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by storewanderer »

We will see how this goes. On paper you get the impression Dollar Tree just morphs into Family Dollar which is a not very great performing format... so hopefully that is not what will happen here.

I think they have to increase prices (especially in certain areas), the days of cutting sizes and cutting quality to remain at $1 have hit a wall.

The question will be if a single price point is what attracts customers to their store. I also think it will be poor for the consumer as there are a number of items that stores like Wal Mart will price at say .94 that Dollar Tree is at 1.00 on, just to undercut a little. If Dollar Tree decides to go to say 1.25 then of course others will go up too.

I commend them for maintaining the $1 as long as they did.

99 Cents Only abandoned the 99 Cents price point and my view is they have not quite been the same since. They have made some pretty drastic price increases like all of their melons and fruits used to be .99 (or loose fruits .99 lb) a few years ago now I went there once this summer and despite the filth level of the Reno 99 Cents Only I did take a couple melons and when I paid I was surprised to be charged 1.99 each. The nectarines and peaches suited for the trash had a sign that said 1.99/lb. I can just go to a regular grocer who actually cleans and sanitizes its produce area and pay that, or less if they have a sale, so I did not go back again for any produce this summer.

I will be interested to see if some other chain comes along and tries to maintain the $1 concept somehow. Maybe it can start small and focus on closeouts... sort of like how Dollar Tree started.. before it got so big it needed to develop a consistent mix.
TW-Upstate NY
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

storewanderer wrote: September 29th, 2021, 11:19 pm I will be interested to see if some other chain comes along and tries to maintain the $1 concept somehow. Maybe it can start small and focus on closeouts... sort of like how Dollar Tree started.
We had a small regional chain like that called Yankee One Dollar and you never knew what you'd find when you shopped there. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping there but they shut down some time ago because they just couldn't compete with Dollar Tree I guess. I gave up on Dollar Tree over a year ago and don't see myself going back especially after this new policy. About the only thing I consistently liked there was their selection of hardcover books. They weren't best sellers but they had lots of interesting topics from business to sports to politics and I found that was about the only place in the store where the product mix did consistently change.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by BillyGr »

TW-Upstate NY wrote: September 30th, 2021, 10:18 am
storewanderer wrote: September 29th, 2021, 11:19 pm I will be interested to see if some other chain comes along and tries to maintain the $1 concept somehow. Maybe it can start small and focus on closeouts... sort of like how Dollar Tree started.
We had a small regional chain like that called Yankee One Dollar and you never knew what you'd find when you shopped there. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping there but they shut down some time ago because they just couldn't compete with Dollar Tree I guess. I gave up on Dollar Tree over a year ago and don't see myself going back especially after this new policy. About the only thing I consistently liked there was their selection of hardcover books. They weren't best sellers but they had lots of interesting topics from business to sports to politics and I found that was about the only place in the store where the product mix did consistently change.
There was also the more limited Just a Buck chain in the vicinity. The one I remember was for years in the Latham Circle Mall, when it was still a mall :)

They still exist and are (apparently) mostly franchises. Most are more southern in NY - probably the closest to Albany is in Greene County (Greenville) or Queensbury and then south from there, plus a few in other odd states (2 ea. for OH & NJ and 1 ea. in CA, AL and NC).
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Brian Lutz »

If Dollar Tree has to start raising their prices, a dark horse competitor that could start eating into their business would be Daiso Japan, which is relatively limited in reach compared to Dollar Tree currently (mostly the US west coast with a few stores in Texas), but has already been selling items at the $1.50 price point for several years now (plus other items in the stores with prices as high as $15,) generally has much nicer (albeit smaller) and much cleaner stores, and is overall a much nicer shopping experience. Their mix of merchandise is very different from what you usually find in a Dollar Tree (and is very heavily influenced by its Japanese roots, including a large Japanese food section) but overall seems to be much better quality than the Dollar Tree equivalents. I'd like to think that higher price points can get higher quality merchandise into Dollar Tree stores, but I'm pretty sure we'll just get the same junk for more money.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by SamSpade »

I wish Daiso would come down from Western Washington. Best beach mats around!
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Brian Lutz »

For those people who don't live near a Daiso store, they have recently started selling some items online:

https://daisous.com/

I have to imagine you would need to make a decent size order to offset the shipping costs though.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Bagels »

The problem with Daiso is that many of their products are sold above the $1.50 price point -- even items that are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.
storewanderer wrote: September 29th, 2021, 11:19 pm We will see how this goes. On paper you get the impression Dollar Tree just morphs into Family Dollar which is a not very great performing format... so hopefully that is not what will happen here.

I think they have to increase prices (especially in certain areas), the days of cutting sizes and cutting quality to remain at $1 have hit a wall.

The question will be if a single price point is what attracts customers to their store. I also think it will be poor for the consumer as there are a number of items that stores like Wal Mart will price at say .94 that Dollar Tree is at 1.00 on, just to undercut a little. If Dollar Tree decides to go to say 1.25 then of course others will go up too.

I commend them for maintaining the $1 as long as they did.
I think that's the key point -- to maintain the $1 price point, they've retorted to shrinkflation and cuts in quality. I have adult acne, and used their face wash for 20+ years. Dollar Tree (and other dollar stores) have placed downward pressure on many over-the-counter drugs through the years, but ProActive's success and high price point (gotta pay the Biebs, some how) has caused acne medication prices to swell. Thus, that I can get a bottle of acne face wash for $1 -- when name brands go for $6+, and generics $4+, is a steal.

But earlier in the year I started breaking out. At first, I thought it was me, but then I found an old bottle from Dollar Tree and my face cleared. When that ran out, I bought another bottle... and my face broke out again. The product is now junk. I would happily pay $2 to get the old formula back -- still a bargain.
99 Cents Only abandoned the 99 Cents price point and my view is they have not quite been the same since. They have made some pretty drastic price increases like all of their melons and fruits used to be .99 (or loose fruits .99 lb) a few years ago now I went there once this summer and despite the filth level of the Reno 99 Cents Only I did take a couple melons and when I paid I was surprised to be charged 1.99 each. The nectarines and peaches suited for the trash had a sign that said 1.99/lb. I can just go to a regular grocer who actually cleans and sanitizes its produce area and pay that, or less if they have a sale, so I did not go back again for any produce this summer.
Some 99 Cents Only stores are nasty, but they have renovated several stores and re-branded them as 'The 99 Store.' and they're quite nice. A couple years ago, the chain was widely expected to liquidate, but they seem to have turned things around (the outlook on their debt has been upgraded).

For almost 20 years, 99 Cents Only was my guilty pleasure, but I rarely go in there anymore. All the name branded products that are being liquidated, that use to cost $1, are now marked up the price points rivaling sales at major retailers. They use to dump a ton of Kraft products -- Lunchables 2 for $1, 1 lb. Oscar Mayer deli meat for $1, etc. but I rarely see these anymore. I attribute this to a) their desire to have a more consistent product line-up and b) competition to sell close-out/liquidated goods. Even Big Lots seems to be selling a lot less liquidated goods... the store near me retained most of the shelving, freezers and refrigerators from its days as a Hughes Market, but recently renovated the store and removed them. No more cold/frozen items.
I will be interested to see if some other chain comes along and tries to maintain the $1 concept somehow. Maybe it can start small and focus on closeouts... sort of like how Dollar Tree started.. before it got so big it needed to develop a consistent mix.
On a national level, probably not. In SoCal, there's several ethic stores that sell a wider selection of merchandise for $1, although they have higher price points as well. They're not near me, but I will stop at one when I'm in their area.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Alpha8472 »

I went to Daiso for the first time today. It was nothing like a Dollar Tree. It was filled with Japanese items that looked very appealing. There were Japanese pop culture items and Japanese snacks. I was amazed at the variety. It was like shopping in Japan. I have never been there, but I assume that is what Japan is like.

I bought some Japanese noodles and some kind of drink. It was white like milk water. I have no idea what I was buying. I just bought for the thrill of it. The prices were in Japanese units. I have no idea what the prices were as many spots were unmarked. There were tiny household items such as dinnerware as well as cleaning supplies. It was all about the Japanese style and fun factor.

Dollar Tree is where you go to buy low quality cheap items. Daiso is more for fun souvenirs. The prices at Daiso were not too bad, but higher than Dollar Tree.
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