Long after Tucker Carlson endorsed the economic plans of super-liberal Elizabeth Warren, And a little after his (numerous) whacky declarations about UFOs, but before his ridiculous statements about the Russian subway stations and supermarkets,
Tucker Carlson declared dollar stores are ugly and the result of evil Libertarian economic polices
"Libertarian economics was a scam perpetrated by the beneficiaries of the economic system that they were defending.
“So they created this whole intellectual framework to justify the private equity culture that’s hollowed out the country. A smarter way to assess an economic system is by its results.”
"I think you need to ask: 'Does this economic system produce a lot of Dollar Stores? And if it does, it’s not a system that you want, because it degrades people and it makes their lives worse and it increases exponentially the amount of ugliness in your society. And anything that increases ugliness is evil.
“So if it’s such a good system, why do we have all these Dollar Stores?”
Dollar Tree plans to shutter nearly 1,000 Family Dollar stores as the discount retailer moves to revamp its business by expanding its food aisles and array of merchandise in the $3 to $5 range.
The chain announced the move Wednesday, coming after it missed quarterly sales and profit targets amid heightened competition from such rivals as Dollar General and Temu for discretionary dollars. The change also reflects inflation-weary shoppers’ continued focus on necessities; though consumer prices have cooled significantly since their mid-2022 peak, Americans are still shelling out more for groceries, gasoline and other essentials.
The company will close 600 Family Dollar locations in the first half of fiscal 2024. An additional 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores will not renew their leases. . . .
I see a lot of DG/DT stores etc in rural areas of Indiana. In many small towns they have filled the void left by the demise of the traditional general family store.
Though I am sure they have over expanded, where I live we have a DT/DG/FD all within shouting distance of each other.
Plus they all race to the very bottom when it comes to paying their employees. I’ve got friends who have worked for all of them. It’s not just the ■■■■ compensation; it’s the bull they make you go through while you’re there. Like forcing the managers to work 80 hours per week with no backup. And expecting one person to not only clean and care for the store but to also unload and stock a full 18 wheeler by themselves.
It’s why their turnover is so appalling. They are all literally the worst places to work in retail.
LOL
I obviously left the door open for many tangents.
I was thinking mostly about the dollar stores closing and Tucker getting his wish,
but I couldn’t resist taking an extended swipe at his whacky left wing ideas.
umkay well we should also consider what effects this economy has on these stores. they cater to lower income earners. maybe they cant afford to shop even there as they used to
I see a combination of things.
Part of it is inevitable and due directly to the over-expansion that accompanies “free money from the Fed” they expanded like crazy when money was free.
Now the Fed has been forced to pull the rug out from under them. Just another example of the fact that the Fed should not be doing the stuff it does in the first place.
1. “In cities, it is common to find dollar stores clustered by the dozen within certain neighborhoods. In rural towns, they typically locate near the only grocery store, and often succeed in wiping it out,” . . . Between 2019 and 2021, Dollar General opened 3,025 new stores, relocated 310 stores and remodeled 4,446 stores,
LINK:Dollar stores to continue growth goals despite community pushback
2. This past week, Dollar Tree’s new management team (effectively Dollar General’s team from the 2010s) presented their transformation vision of a newly revitalized Dollar Tree and Family Dollar that are now set to expand into new markets (+1K locations per year).
LINK: Dollar Tree: Dreiling's Transformation into Expansion Mode - The Anchor
The other part is that Inflation has pushed them far far out of the $1 market. There was a market value to their former ability to tout “everything is $1” or “most stuff is $1.” Since they can no longer do that, they lose part of their identity and thus part of their consumer base.
That’s about it. I’m wondering, did someone in this thread buy stock in Dollar Tree?
And Tucker Carlson, whom I rarely watch, had nothing to do with this.
There is a limit to how discounted a retailer can lower his price and stay profitable. Part of the exercise is in cutting costs, which is why the employee experience is so crappy. Combine that with a customer’s ability to get the same Asian-supplied goods on Amazon, at essentially the same price, without having to enter a dingy store with all the ambiance of a street vendor booth, and it all adds up to a really tough niche to succeed in.
I can understand Tucker’s portrayal of Dollar Store. And I share his concern for it growing into a predominant business model. That growth is a sign of a degenerating economy.
Now we’re seeing that the business model is too fragile to thrive in this economy.
I went into a Family Dollar in Tennessee. There was stock all in the aisle, you couldn’t even walk. They had one employee working the whole store. She was the stocker, cashier, manager, cleaner. Everything. She was outside on a smoke break and the store was wide open with no one to help customers. I asked her how are they going to stop people from going in and shoplifting. She said IDGAF!
If I were to guess? It’s Dollar General that’s putting them out. I’m seeing this chain multiply like crazy and all of these “dollar” stores are competing for the same market.
Anybody else seeing this chain popping up around you?
One of the articles (USAToday?) suggested that Dollar General was beating them, and that it is specifically because Dollar General offers more groceries.
That could be the case. I know I used to stop in my local Dollar Tree frequently when I ran out of eggs or bread and I hardly go there anymore.
