A deeper look into dollar stores....

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A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by veteran+ »

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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by storewanderer »

They sell the same junk as Target, Wal Mart, and various other retailers. These negative impacts can be applied to just about any retailer that specializes in selling a lot of plastic/disposable quality junk, which is pretty much every retailer.

I don't see Dollar General or Dollar Tree going anywhere. Dollar Tree will open/close stores but they always have. Family Dollar is a weak link that I expect to shink significantly.
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by veteran+ »

Did you listen to the whole video?
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: March 17th, 2023, 3:48 pm Did you listen to the whole video?
I'm part way through.
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by veteran+ »

storewanderer wrote: March 17th, 2023, 3:50 pm
veteran+ wrote: March 17th, 2023, 3:48 pm Did you listen to the whole video?
I'm part way through.
Okay ;)
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: March 17th, 2023, 3:55 pm
storewanderer wrote: March 17th, 2023, 3:50 pm
veteran+ wrote: March 17th, 2023, 3:48 pm Did you listen to the whole video?
I'm part way through.
Okay ;)
I've been mentioning this for a while. I've seen it in many small towns. However Dollar Tree and Dollar General are two very different things. I do not think Dollar Tree really has the ability to actually hurt an existing grocer very much. Dollar Tree will take some snack business away from the grocer (and take some snack business away from the local convenience stores too) but as far as dry grocery goes, Dollar Tree does not move much. Dollar Tree adding more freezers and refrigeration does not really seem to generate much sales for them either so again I don't see it having much of an impact.

The comments on ounce for ounce prices actually being higher in a Dollar Tree than a regular grocer is old news and people have been mentioning that for decades now.

However, it is another story on Dollar General. Dollar General will open a store and when they sell many of the exact same items as the grocery store for significantly lower prices this is an issue. When they get a frozen food offer that is basically just as good in the customer's view to an existing grocer this is a problem.

Unfortunately at the end of the day the customer makes the decision to go shop at Dollar General instead of the independent grocer for various center store items because it is cheaper. The customer is happy. Dollar General also brings along an expanded line of general merchandise that was not previously offered to the neighborhood by the independent grocer.

At the end of the day who I really think has failed here is the wholesalers for these independent grocers. These wholesalers who sell to independent grocers at prices that are, in some cases, at wholesale, higher than Dollar General's retail price, are basically driving their customers (the independent grocers) out of business. Vendors like Coke and Pepsi who service Dollar General with a national contract where again the retail shelf price at Dollar General is lower than the wholesale cost these folks charge to a one store independent grocer... again... this is a problem.

I'm not sure the solution to this problem is not allowing Dollar General to open a store though. It seems like the better solution would be grocery wholesalers who would actually help the independents be competitive... then the consumer would benefit from the increased competition.

Wholesalers and independent grocers in underserved areas have taken advantage of the customer for years with very high prices.

But it isn't just independents who have out of whack pricing. When you have a small town where Safeway NorCal Division is the only grocer for 60+ miles and only store for that matter, in a low income rural small town, and the customer there cannot easily pay 5.49 for Progresso Soup of 1.99 for a can of generic canned vegetables, believe me, they are really happy when Dollar General shows up and offers that Progresso for 3.25 and that can of generic vegetables for .85.
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by Alpha8472 »

I visited Dollar Tree yesterday and it seems like many items have shrunk compared to a few years ago. They used to sell big bags of chips, but now it is mostly snack size bags for $1.25. The brand name sodas such as Pepsi and Fanta seem to be in taller than normal plastic bottles or cans. They are not 2 liter bottles, but just large single serve sodas.

The food items seem smaller and more like a convenience store snack size.

The lines at the store were very short for a Saturday afternoon. I just see as many customers at Dollar Tree these days. However, the Walmart next door has huge lines and tons of customers. When Dollar Tree is next to Walmart, Dollar Tree really suffers. Dollar Tree used to have more good deals, but now it seems like everything is really not worth buying.

I thought that the price increase to $1.25 was supposed to bring in more variety. The selection has gotten even more limited. Dollar Tree once had some interesting snack items, but most of those have disappeared.
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by jamcool »

A lot of the food items in Dollar Tree used to be foreign made-or some obscure private label-or close outs from some defunct chain.
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by storewanderer »

Alpha8472 wrote: March 19th, 2023, 10:13 am I visited Dollar Tree yesterday and it seems like many items have shrunk compared to a few years ago. They used to sell big bags of chips, but now it is mostly snack size bags for $1.25. The brand name sodas such as Pepsi and Fanta seem to be in taller than normal plastic bottles or cans. They are not 2 liter bottles, but just large single serve sodas.

The food items seem smaller and more like a convenience store snack size.

The lines at the store were very short for a Saturday afternoon. I just see as many customers at Dollar Tree these days. However, the Walmart next door has huge lines and tons of customers. When Dollar Tree is next to Walmart, Dollar Tree really suffers. Dollar Tree used to have more good deals, but now it seems like everything is really not worth buying.

I thought that the price increase to $1.25 was supposed to bring in more variety. The selection has gotten even more limited. Dollar Tree once had some interesting snack items, but most of those have disappeared.
They have added larger boxes of cereal and also sometimes branded cereals (General Mills) are showing up now. I can't recall the last food I bought at Dollar Tree though, thinking about it. Generally speaking I am not wild about much of the consumables mix in Dollar Tree. The paper products and cleaning items seem like a poor value for the quality/size but many people think they are a steal. The drug/HBA area has a few things I have started to buy more for convenience and "ok price" than any other reason.

Where the mix is better is in the rest of the store. There is significantly more pet than before, toy area is FAR better than before, and housewares area seems to be coming back.
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Re: A deeper look into dollar stores....

Post by Bagels »

Deja vu... it's almost as if they took a video recorded 20 years ago and replaced "Walmart" with "dollar stores."

Consider a family hasn't seen their real household income grow in three years but has seen their expenses swell. Because of inflation, their local independent grocery store is now forced to sell medium sized bananas for 50c, apples for $2, oranges for $3, etc. So instead of spending over $10 to provide a fresh fruit snack for their two kids for the week, they turn to the dollar store where for $4 they can purchase processed snacks.... and the dollar store is evil because those snacks are unhealthy and contribute to obesity and other health problems (which cost more in the long run)?

Two things:
(1) It's a dangerous argument to begin with because there's NO proof that consuming processed foods directly contributes to any health problems... and scientists have been studying this for decades. It's far more probable that people overindulge on caloric processed snacks, leading to these problems... most people don't eat 3-4 apples at a time but they may eat 3-4 granola bars at a time, for example.
(2) Even if it was, it's not the dollar store's fault.
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