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A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

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Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#191

Post by ohithereyou »

NicoJuicy wrote: post #127
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…

Aren't there any local (small) stores? I can't believe everything has to be a big "chain". Here in Europe, there are a lot of SMB's that fill in the gap of "fresh food". Although they are a little bit more expensive, they are always good enough to fill this requirement.

It seems that grocery stores are consolidating into the big chains. We had a couple of IGA[1] grocery stores in the town I grew up in - locally owned and operated grocery stores that were much more responsive to customer demands. Now there are none.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGA_(supermarkets)

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#192

Post by sokoloff »

AlexTWithBeard wrote: post #167

Among other reasons of sorry state of the communities this article mentions "white flight". Would it be worth starting a campaign to attract white people back to the dilapidated neighborhoods?

What might be the essential elements of such a campaign? In other words, if you believe in “white flight”, I assume you think they did so for a reason or set of reasons.

Have those reasons changed? Have the conditions changed? Other than relatively inexpensive land, what’s the motivation for a group who decided to move out to move back?

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#193

Post by sonnyblarney »

I don't see a lot of evidence to support the thesis.

"When a dollar store opened up in Haven, Kansas—subsidized through tax breaks by the local government—sales at the the nearby Foodliner grocery store dropped by 30 percent, "

This seems to be a case of a specific kind of competition, and the Dollar Store is good at that.

The corporation is 'extra evil' for selling stuff cheaper than the 'normally evil corporation' down the street? These arguments are really hard.

As long as produce is available - and by all reasoning it is ... then remaining conclusions are a stretch.

Cheaper prices are generally good for consumers, especially the most vulnerable.

Also should note that it is 'fresh produce' that tends to be the cheapest food. 'Processing' is where the cost is, ergo, and maybe thankfully, processed foods will be more expensive.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#194

Post by sgt101 »

linkmotif wrote: post #37
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…

Very refreshing to see people posting this plain simple reality. Not only is there plenty of cheap healthy food, if people wanted more of it—BAM—capitalism would be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail to sell them whatever they want.

So, ban all advertising of processed foods. Run dense campaigns of public health adverts for fresh fruit and veg. Promote organic farming and tax poor quality foods savagely.

Is this capitalism? Maybe not, but pretty quickly there'll be lots of folks looking to eat healthy.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#195

Post by nradov »

tomohawk wrote: post #163

There were riots in Baltimore a few years ago. The street gangs used it as an excuse to knock over every pharmacy, shoe store, and liquor store. This destroyed years of work trying to get stores to build there. Among many others, Target decided it was no longer worth the risk and moved out. They also ended up cancelling projects in other cities, such as DC. When a city is not competent at providing for basic things l…

There is a Target store open inside the Baltimore city limits. I think they may ave only abandoned certain neighborhoods, not the whole city.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#196

Post by IWeldMelons »

nasredin wrote: post #148
ams6110 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to watch out for counterfeit products in those dollar stores. I found one selling "Colgate" toothpaste that was not the real thing.

At the local dollar store, a lot of packaged goods are from China and or are full of crap (even garlic is from China) So one has to read the labels dillegently. Examples: "Othet origin tea, packed in Sri Lanka". Chocolate hazelnut spread from Turkey that's mostly oil. Etc.

Actually Turkish food generally of good quality. OTOH, lots of the food items sold in "normal" supermarkets all over the country is made in China. For example, it is like 90% of all apple juice sold in the US made from Chinese concentrate,

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#197

Post by IWeldMelons »

anilshanbhag wrote: post #10

It's fairly obvious that grocery stores would not want to be in poor neighborhoods. This article paints it all as segregation / race issue which is inaccurate where it is really an issue of purchasing power of the community. While many poor neighborhoods are communities of color - dollar stores have their origin and largest footprint in rural America which is predominantly white.

I dunno, ALDI usually opens its stores in stable lower middle class/working class neighborhoods.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#198

Post by IWeldMelons »

da_chicken wrote: post #96
nate_meurer wrote: post #42

I normally like CityLab, but the tone of this article really grates on me. Calling dollar stores parasites? The article casually notes that without these stores many poor or minority communities would be true retail deserts, but it offers no workable alternatives. Only invective. Every Dollar General I've ever been in has dairy, eggs, a competent selection of canned and dry goods (pasta, beans, etc), baking goods, an…

Yeah, this does kind of feel like condemning people for having the gall to not shop at Trader Joe's. Realistically, what's the difference between Dollar General and Woolworth's 5¢ & 10¢ stores? What's the difference between Amazon and the Sears Roebuck Mail Order Catalog? The names have changed, but merchandise really hasn't.

Speaking of Trader Joes - ALDI, the ugly cousin of the TJ, is actually so much better and cheaper than Dollar Store.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#199

Post by eigenstuff »

dev_dull wrote: post #70

> “It advertises hard-to-beat low prices but it offers little in terms of fresh produce and nutritious items—further trapping residents in a cycle of poverty and ill-health.” The elitism here is sickening. Why shouldn’t the author just come out and say “We know what’s best and have to control the stores around poor people or they might buy junk food.” I hope people who think this way never end up in a position to inf…

I live in a rural area and I go to "my" Dollar General so much I know all the people who work there.

I'm not going to the Dolla G to do grocery shopping. I'm going there to get stuff like glue sticks, tooth paste, paper, tape, etc I need in a pinch. The only groceries I'm buying at the DG are eggs in an emergency and beer. Every once in a while I'll get a frozen pizza if I'm exhausted and don't feel like cooking because the closest fast food is 15 more minutes away. I'm sure it's the same for most people who shop for groceries weekly.

This whole argument doesn't make any sense to me and completely misunderstands the role DGs play in rural communities: saving you an hour round trip to Walmart if you just need a fucking bottle of shampoo.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#200

Post by ravenstine »

jeswin wrote: post #80
ravenstine wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I assume the folks who are struggling are not stupid .. and have looked at every conceivable way of stretching their dollar One might assume. Possibly the biggest trouble of dollar stores is that a lot of the "deals" are the result of simply selling things in smaller quantities. The next time you visit a Dollar Tree, compare the actual amount that you get for something like flour, oatmeal, detergent... really anyth…

> The next time you visit a Dollar Tree, compare the actual amount that you get for something like flour, oatmeal, detergent... really anything, to the sizes sold at normal stores. Many financially constrained people have a cash flow problem - they often end up spending more as you said. However, buying larger quantities is still not an option because the money is simply not there. Being able to plan out a month is a…

That, I am not disputing. It doesn't change the fact that people probably aren't finding many bargains at such places. Dollar stores basically make being poor viable, but there's little if any dollar-stretching going on. Having been poor myself at times, I do understand that smaller quantities are often the better choice, but they should not be mistaken as bargains.

Having known other poor people, a lot of them(as in not all) indeed think that they are finding bargains at dollar stores. Nobody wants to hear this, but a significant portion of the lower-income segment are in their situation because of their mindset.

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