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A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

citylab.com

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Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#171

Post by briandh »

aiisjustanif wrote: post #153
briandh wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dollar General has a much larger selection than an Asian 7-Eleven. It has "real groceries" (albeit a small selection) and many non-food goods like detergent, toys, shampoo, even cell phones and a small variety of clothing. It's kind of like they got a list of the top 10% best-selling items at Wal-Mart and made a store out of it. Dollar Tree (and Family Dollar IIRC) are a bit different because unlike Dollar General ea…

> Dollar General has a much larger selection than an Asian 7-Eleven. That is surely because a 7-11 in say Japan, Korea, or China are part of vertical, dense infrastructure. You don't have miles of space in between things. And I would be curious if Dollar General has that much more of a selection compared to some of the big 7-11 I've visited in Seoul.

Maybe I haven't visited the right ones, but none of the 7-Eleven (or FamilyMart, Lawson, OKmart, or CU) stores I visited in South Korea, Taiwan, or Japan had selections that close to those of the Dollar General stores I've patronized. In my subjective judgement, the difference is pretty big. This is not a knock on them, of course, just difference in business model, and as you say, regional/market context.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#172

Post by evgen »

iguy wrote: post #141
DanBC wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rich people can afford to buy white goods. They can buy online using a credit card (and pay off the balance before they're charged interest). Poor people have to buy on hire purchase or using payday loans, which end up being significantly more expensive. Wealthy people in the UK can buy their utilities using direct debit, which is normally cheaper than paying the bill as it comes in. Poor people may be on a pre-payme…

These are all true, but they are weaker examples than the boots, where the rich guy bought a higher quality version of something which both needed, and still saved money.

A cheap used car will get you where you want to go, but will cost more in maintenance and fuel to get that job done. It will need to be replaced more frequently than the car purchased by someone who will buy new or who will purchase a 'new-ish' used car, and when the time comes for replacement the rich guy will probably have some residual value in the car while the cheap car is probably being replaced because it is no longer operable.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#173

Post by akudha »

mawburn wrote: post #158
vraylle wrote: post #9

I don't know about other areas, but here in the middle of Oklahoma the Dollar Generals have been a real positive. There's a lot of rural areas where a Walmart came in, then folded later. It left a 1-2 hour drive to get buy any kind of "real" food. The DG stores here have been expanding to include an actual grocery section, including fresh produce and (limited) fresh meat. More is available frozen. They have excellent…

I have a lot of family in rural Arkansas and Dollar General has been a life changer for them. It's only about 30minutes to Walmart or a grocery store, but that can huge hassle for small things or late night medicine.

Lived in NYC for a few years - I had everything (bank, pharmacy, multiple starbucks, multiple restaurants, gyms, swimming pools ....) within half mile radius. I can't even imagine driving 30 mins to get groceries. Totally different world!

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#174

Post by beering »

m_mueller wrote: post #44
matchbok wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

meat is not carcinogenic

I think OP is referring to carcinogenic effects linked to red meat - in some ways it‘s healthier because its iron is the easiest to absorb, in some ways it‘s not by giving you 20% or so higher risk of intestinal cancer if you consume more than a certain amount - don’t remember the details. My stance is, duh, everything at the right dose (like 30-50g per day on average would be my bet for red meat and red fish). Plent…

There's also some evidence that high levels of iron are linked to intestinal cancer.[0] So maybe the meat is just a proxy of iron. My takeaway is that the links between X food and Y disease are still largely a mystery. The correlation may be there, but the cause is not understood.

[0] http://nautil.us/issue/67/reboot/iron-is-the-new-cholesterol

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#176

Post by [deleted] »

agumonkey wrote: post #31
pascalxus wrote: post #3

You really have to differentiate between the food that's offered at a dollar store and everything else. I shop at the dollar store for things like shampoo, deodrant, toothpaste and it's superb deal, not in any way making me poorer. on the contrary it saves me money. for groceries, you should shop somewhere else, unless your looking for dog food. the reason there aren't more grocery stores selling good food is because…

> "consumers prefer processed foods, sodas, chips, things placed in boxes and plastic" like toddlers prefer candies

[deleted]

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#177

Post by mattnewton »

dcow wrote: post #110
mattnewton wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Santa cruzian here: I don’t, the views and the weather are too nice to rush and put yourself in danger. Besides you’d probably just be rushing into traffic most days.

Speed limit is between 55 and 80 depending on the type of road anywhere that isn’t a town in Iowa. It’s perfectly safe.

Yeah, Iowa is flat and the people probably know how to drive in inclement weather. Just saying people here shouldn’t be going that fast :)

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#178

Post by bretthoerner »

bunderbunder wrote: post #170
thaumasiotes wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can either drive 5 minutes into town and go to the Dollar General for most of your basic needs, or you can drive a half hour to the nearest city with a Walmart / Target / etc. I'm intrigued by these time estimates. Living in a suburb of Santa Cruz (just south of the Bay Area), the choices are similar. Completely inadequate corner store (much worse than DG) locally, or drive to a location with real stores. That…

Chicago is that way, too. The only difference is it's a 30 minute bus ride instead of a 30 minute drive. That may be an economic equilibrium point. (Edit: For infrequent stuff like clothes. Obvs, regardless of the free market's default behavior, we need better for food.)

> That may be an economic equilibrium point.

It also reminds me of Marchetti's constant: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2014/06/why-commute-t...

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#179

Post by eitally »

adrianN wrote: post #113
craz8 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, if I even think of Santa Cruz, I end up in a 15 minute traffic backup

Having to get into a car to get groceries is probably one of the reasons for that.

Interestingly, living in San Jose is the first time I've regularly walked to the grocery store. Why not when I lived elsewhere, equally close or closer to perfectly good Kroger, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Publix or Winn-Dixie? Hills. Walking 4 blocks carrying groceries up and down hills in heat & humidity (or snow & ice) isn't remotely the same as on flatland in a mild climate.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#180

Post by learc83 »

marcosdumay wrote: post #169
learc83 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably not any dirtier than it was when it was growing in the dirt. That's why you wash fruits and vegetables before eating them. Even packaged foods like bagged lettuce can be very dirty (contaminated with E. coli) as well.

One would expect the dirt they grew into wasn't rich in human-specific pathogens.

One would be wrong. Common food born pathogens are abundant in farm soil, generally from human or animal waste. Lettuce is much more likely to have picked up harmful pathogens at the farm than it is from customers touching it.

Other customers touching your produce should rank very, very low on your list of concerns.

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