Posted on 12/15/2017 7:16:07 AM PST by Red Badger
Macon Brock, a retailer who co-founded the Dollar Tree chain of discount stores that grew into a Fortune 500 company, has died. He was 75.
News outlets report Brock died Saturday at his home in Virginia Beach. His wife said he died of complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease.
Brock was born and raised in Norfolk. In 1986, he and two others opened five stores called “Only $1.00” after having success in the retail toy business.
The Chesapeake-based company changed its name to Dollar Tree in 1993.
Brock and his wife made donations to colleges across Virginia, and he served as chairman of Randolph-Macon College’s Board of Trustees for 10 years.
He also provided significant support to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/obituaries/macon-brock-jr-co-founder-of-dollar-tree-dies-at-75.html
Idiopathic means they have no idea. My brother died from the same thing.
They knew it was lung disease but had no cause to which they could attribute the disease so it’s idiopathic. Sometimes idiopathic is applied to atypical occurrences of known disease with known source, also.
As the late Dr. Robert Mendelsohn used to say “doctors never want to admit that they don’t know something, so they decided to tell you in Greek.”
I bet you a dollar that.... oops, never mind. :)
For a $1 transaction how many times does the cashier have to swing by that scanner to pay for the entire business? Carol tunnel city.
The fact that they can sell all that stuff for $1.00 each tells you what kind of markup other places charge for the same crappy imported junk.
Every cashier, on every transaction, every day, all day long, at our local Dollar Tree, asks the customer:
“And, would you like to donate to our Christmas Presents for the Children of Military Families?”
JFTR, I always do.
FReepers may scorn the Dollar Tree, but when one is a widow on Social Security, and NOT getting any other assistance, it is a great place to shop for dried beans, pasta, paper goods, and non-perishables.
That extra “Dollar for the Troops” is often my last one.
I walkaway from Dollar Tree with a full cart, when across the Parking Lot at Target, I may have been able to purchase one or two items. And more often than not, the Brands are the SAME.
Just Sayin’.
We shop at Dollar Tree a lot.
Toothpaste and brushes, Mouthwash, razors, shaving cream, paper goods, etc.
Ours have frozen foods and refrigerated items. Dozen medium eggs $1, bologna, canned goods..................
Most of the stuff at the dollar places is discarded from not selling. Last year’s line and such. The dollar stores get it for dirt cheap because for the distributor it’s either take pennies on the dollar or pay to have it hauled away (or stored forever, some manufacturers are really twitchy about their stuff landing at the dump). So it really doesn’t say anything about markup as the stuff is already a loss for distributors.
My favorite question at the dollar store is ‘how much is this?’
Yes. And the toothpaste are all just familiar brands like Colgate and Crest.
AND it is the ONLY place I can find Golden Crust Real Jamaican Meat Patties, although now that the founder o that delicious chain has killed himself, I don’t know if Golden Crust will survive. Too bad. It is really authentic.
But, be prepared for some really snarky comments on this thread from people.
Oooo...you naughty person, you! :-)
It must vary by region because here Dollar Tree is just about useless for anything but decorations, party favors and wrapping paper. Everything else is sort of poorly stocked and not easy to find.
Dollar Tree has their own supply chain. They do not sell discontinued items and the like...................
Ours are like mini grocery stores.
Food, frozen meats, sandwiches, bread, canned veggies, dried (rice, pasta, beans, etc) all kinds of stuff..................
Not so here, they’re a miniature discount Party City with everything else shoved to the back of the store. Dollar General is as you describe although I would never buy perishables there.
On days when I don’t take my lunch to work, I just pop down to the Dollar Tree, about a mile away, and get some frozen sandwich (chicken, beef, fish) or a TV dinner style meal and a soda and chips, $3 lunch! No sales tax on food here...............
The quality of the restocking at Dollar Tree varies greatly from store to store. A former grade school classmate of mine stocks shelves at one local store, and she must be really good at it because they nearly always have things in stock. At another location a few miles away the opposite is true. At a third local store the manager apparently retired, and whomever replaced him was unable to keep his shelves stocked.
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