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Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

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Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#91

Post by freemint »

mumblemumble wrote: post #75
tspike wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth pointing out the difference between frozen produce (which, as you say, is nutritionally sound) and frozen TV dinners, which often contain multiple times the daily recommended intake of sodium and typically have miniscule portions of vegetables.

Sure. But, if you lack the ability to make good use of frozen produce, then that maybe isn't a realistic option, anyway. Then you might be looking at something more like a choice between TV dinner and McDonald's.

I found quiet revelaing that a Dollar store in a pre announced shoot with a TV station couldn't show any more produce than is to be seen in this shot https://youtu.be/GtAvJBAJfnE?t=389

Also the Chet's grocery shown in this report had to be saved by community action in the face of the competition. https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/kingsley-grocery-sto...

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#92

Post by shadilay »

robotresearcher wrote: post #57
paulpauper wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bad deal, marketed to ppl who either cannot do math or afford larger quantities

Do you buy your toilet paper by the palette direct from the manufacturer? Everybody trades off the unit size, handling costs and cash flow when buying goods.

I wish I could have bought a pallet of toilet paper in early 2020.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#93

Post by zhdc1 »

seibelj wrote: post #7

The gut-reaction is that this is some horrible thing rather than a scalable business model that provides low-cost goods to customers in rural areas that were previously underserved. My family in rural Oklahoma and Texas have to drive over an hour to Wal Mart, the dollar stores have a similar but curated subset of goods at a cheap price, and the distance is much closer. HN monoculture loves to crap all over things lik…

> HN monoculture loves to crap all over things like this. I see it as deeply beneficial to society. Not everyone lives in SF or NYC and can use their iPhone to order delivery 24/7.

I'm disappointed that your comment was downvoted because you're absolutely correct.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#94

Post by tomc1985 »

jcims wrote: post #32
singlow wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many believe that the dollar store preys on shoppers who may think they are getting a better deal, but don't realize that the unit price is not better for many items, and often in deceptive ways.

That type of 'dollar store' is basically defunct (edit: must be a local phenomenon) Family Dollar and Dollar General are essentially small Wal-Marts and sell products for approximately the same price.

There are several Dollar Trees that are fully stocked and busy in the suburban Southern California city I used to live in. Not sure how that makes them "defunct"

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#95

Post by [deleted] »

ravila4 wrote: post #63

I am always looking for ways to live frugally, and I think dollar stores have their niche, and there is good reason for their success. In my experience, they are one of the best options for buying budget non-food items at low volumes where quality is not the most important factor. Things like cleaning products, office supplies, arts and crafts supplies, batteries, deodorant, candles, even common tools and repair equi…

[deleted]

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#96

Post by kennywinker »

sokoloff wrote: post #79
Retric wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dollar general does frequently have a high markup in poor communities without alternatives. It’s for lack of a better term poverty optimized which counterintuitively isn’t about the lowest cost per pound of flour etc.

If Dollar General is not in that neighborhood that has limited choice (or DG closes down/pulls out), is that community made better or worse? I think it's made worse.

Well if the choice is nothing or DG, of course everyone is going to pick DG. And you're right that's the choice many communities are facing. But it wouldn't take much tweaking at a policy level (civic, state, federal) to change that equation and bring business that actually support the community (jobs, high-nutrition and more local products, a venue for community building events, etc). The fact that the choice is DG or nothing is the problem, not DG itself.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#97

Post by jcims »

tomc1985 wrote: post #94
jcims wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That type of 'dollar store' is basically defunct (edit: must be a local phenomenon) Family Dollar and Dollar General are essentially small Wal-Marts and sell products for approximately the same price.

There are several Dollar Trees that are fully stocked and busy in the suburban Southern California city I used to live in. Not sure how that makes them "defunct"

Edited to say it must be local. They have largely disappeared around here. They usually only sold Tupperware and beach toys anyway, so I’m not sure how they apply to the article, but I’m just moving the goalposts there.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#98

Post by difu_disciple »

jcims wrote: post #16

It's not clear to me what the problem is that the article is outlining. The Dollar General near me has the exact same brands as you would find in any larger retail establishment, they just have found a way to stock the 80% that folks typically need. They are filling a niche between the gas station convenience store and traditional grocery/big box retail. They don't have a produce section, just a bit of fruit. Is that…

When you see a dollar store, odds are that:

- it is newly built. Building a dollar store is a fairly cheap way to raise the value of undeveloped land so some land owners use them as an exit strategy for declining communities.

- likely in an odd location, compared to other stores. The developers asked an inexperienced city council to rezone non-commercial land to approve the new build.

Dollar stores wouldn't be as much of an issue if they leased existing commercial space but this rarely happens.

Sub-optimal land usage can lower the chances of a depressed community from ever rebounding.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#99

Post by mumblemumble »

nicoburns wrote: post #88
mumblemumble wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. But, if you lack the ability to make good use of frozen produce, then that maybe isn't a realistic option, anyway. Then you might be looking at something more like a choice between TV dinner and McDonald's.

How can you have the ability to cook a frozen TV dinner, but the not to ability to cook frozen vegetables?

I specifically chose the phrase "make good use of" over the word "cook" because it's an important distinction.

Nobody can make a decent meal exclusively out of frozen vegetables; there just aren't enough macronutrients there. And everyone wants their meals to be appetizing. So it's not just about whether or not you can make frozen vegetables hot, it's about whether or not you can feasibly incorporate them into a nutritionally complete and appetizing meal.

Also, with TV dinners, you can buy just tonight's dinner on the way home from work, heat it up as soon as you get home, and have nothing left over to store. So, even though the food is frozen, there's no need to own a working freezer. With frozen vegetables, unless your meal plans typically involve eating half a pound of Normandy blend in one sitting, not so much.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#100

Post by stronglikedan »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #27
cm2187 wrote: post #15

Stupid question from someone who doesn’t live in the US. Do they actually only sell sub-$1 products? It seems they have been operating for 30y. Inflation must severely restrict the range of products you can offer over such a long time.

Dollar tree used to sell everything for $1: I don't know if they still do or not. The products they sell are limited, and very, very, very cheap. It is amazing, really. Dollar General and Family Dollar both sell things over a dollar.

Coincidentally, I just heard on news radio this morning that Dollar Tree was one of the few, if not the only, still sticking to the max $1 per product model.
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