Posted on 04/10/2014 11:57:36 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
NEW YORK (AP) — Dollar stores are feeling the pinch from mounting financial pressures on low-income shoppers.
Family Dollar said Thursday that will cut jobs and close about 370 underperforming stores as it tries to reverse sagging sales and earnings. The discount store operator will also permanently lower prices on about 1,000 basic items.
Family Dollar Inc., which operates 8,100 stores, did not provide details on how many jobs it would cut.
~SNIP~
Dollar General, the nation's largest dollar-store chain with 11,100 locations, offered a weak profit outlook last month after reporting weak fourth-quarter sales. And Dollar Tree, which operates about 5,000 locations, missed profit expectations for the holiday quarter in February.
Family Dollar has stumbled even more than its rivals because it has made mistakes in pricing, merchandising and the locations of its stores, analysts say. Still, the industry's problems are a big departure from a few years ago, when Family Dollar and other chains packed in customers and expanded rapidly by catering to cash-strapped people during the Great Recession.
(Excerpt) Read more at tbo.com ...
Still, I gotta wonder if these dollar stores overbuilt? I can think of 4-5 within a five mile radius of my home.
Yes, they did.
When we go to my wife’s aunt’s house the running joke is that it takes 5 dollars stores to get there.
I think a lot of retail has been overbuilt. It seems as if there are a couple supermarkets on every corner.
Almost certainly a direct result of the unjust and unconstitutional and economically stupid minimum wage laws.
Seems there’s one in the SC upstate every 2-3 miles or so. Convenient though.
Family Dollar was never a “dollar” store anyway....and yes, they’re probably way overbuilt....I know of one Family Dollar that is across the street from a Dollar General....
That is going to hit rural areas real hard.
Thanks Obama.
Yeppers. To me a true dollar store is Dollar Tree. Its our family’s favorite. Although - like all dollar stores - it depends on the owner/operator. Some are so trashy and not well kept.
We have a fairly new “Dollar General” store nearby; it isn’t really cheap, and seems to target only people living close by (the prices wouldn;t justify traveling any distance to get there). Lower prices are matched by smaller packaging, and it is obviously run on a tight budget; the few employees are all cashiers/stock boys/janitors (which means you wait on line a lot).
Not surprised if these stores don’t do well if there is a Wal-Mart anywhere in the general vicinity; they can’t beat them on prices, and while I thought Wal-Mart had limited variety these dollar stores re-define “limited variety”.
Dollar General hardly sells anything for a dollar other than a pack of chewing gum or a candy bar and with tax, it might be cutting it close to being over a dollar.
BUT, I much rather go into one of those stores if I need to pick up a gallon of milk or a couple of other items than the Wally Mart a couple of block down. I can get in and out much faster.
Along with a good handful of "Dollar Tree" and "Family dollar". And the usual Walmart and CVS and Walgreens, and Grocery Stores, too.
In my neighborhood, they're putting in one of those new "WalMart Neighborhood" stores (a stripped down WM). That'll likely put a stake through Dollar General's heart.
/johnny
Noooooooooo! We LOVE FD!
Big Lots did likewise in 2012. Like you said, "when dollar stores are not doing well, then what does that say?"
The article did go on to say that even Walmarts are targeting dollar stores.
Its a dog eat dog world out their for retailers.
For everyone, really.
We have a strip mall about a mile from us that has a Family Dollar, Goodwill, Dollar General and a 99 cents only store.
I always thought dollar stores replaced five and dimes and took chunks out of the growth rate of nationwide pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens that charge an arm and a leg for convenience store type goods. Family Dollar has always struck me as the worst of the dollar stores - bad locations, bad decor and overpriced merchandise. Customers who want overpriced merchandise can go to Walgreens and CVS, where the shopping experience is superior. Dollar stores could really bump up their sales by adding a prescription counter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.