The RISE and FALL of Dollar Stores

Sources & Further Readings

• AP, Michelle Chapman (2024). Dollar Tree to close nearly 1,000 stores, posts surprise fourth quarter loss. https://apnews.com/article/dollar-tree-discount-inflation-16f0d9b7e2d41d95ee6e6402d96169d0 
• The Ascent, Emma Newbery (2023). Dollar Stores Offer Low Prices -- but Hurt Local Economies. https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/dollar-stores-offer-low-prices-but-hurt-local-economies/ 
• The Atlantic, Bourree Lam (2017). How REI’s Co-op Retail Model Helps Its Bottom Line. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/rei-jerry-stritzke-interview/520278/ 
• Best Life, Abby Reinhard (2022). Dollar General Shoppers Say They've Stopped Going Thanks to This Major Problem. https://bestlifeonline.com/dollar-general-boxes-blocking-aisles-news/ 
• The Business of Business, James Mattone (2018). Dollar stores take over America as they move in on big-box territory: a detailed map and analysis. https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/rise-of-dollar-stores/ 
• Business Insider, Alex Bitter (2024). About 60 cities and towns have restricted dollar store openings since 2018, a new report says. https://www.businessinsider.com/60-cities-restricted-dollar-general-dollar-tree-openings-report-says-2024-1 
• Business Insider, Alex Bitter (2024). The great myth about dollar stores. https://www.businessinsider.com/dollar-stores-slowdowns-because-of-economy-inflation-store-issues-2024-4
• Business Insider, Alex Bitter (2023). How Dollar General's troubles have snowballed into cluttered aisles and stores forced to close by fire marshals. https://www.businessinsider.com/dollar-general-workers-hours-cut-employee-shortage-leads-to-clutter-2023-5 
• CBC, Michael Wilson (2022). Dollar store products commonly tested positive for toxic chemicals, analysis says. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/toxic-chemicals-in-dollar-store-items-1.6569257 
• CBS News, Kate Gibson (2024). Family Dollar to pay $42 million for shipping food from rat-infested warehouse to stores. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-dollar-dollar-tree-rodent-infestation-justice-department-fda/ 
• Channel 3000, Jaymes Langrehr & Kyle Pozorski (2023). Dollar General agrees to pay more than $850,000 in state fines for inaccurate pricing. https://www.channel3000.com/news/dollar-general-agrees-to-pay-more-than-850-000-in-state-fines-for-inaccurate-pricing/article_3da47504-87be-11ee-9d05-6345b7d9d5d9.html 
• The Christian Science Monitor, Carey L. Biron (2024). Cities say the cost of dollar stores – food deserts, crime – aren’t worth it. https://www.csmonitor.com/text_edition/USA/2024/0502/cities-combat-dollar-store-boom 
• CNBC, Annie Palmer (2024). Amazon cuts hundreds of jobs in cloud computing unit. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/amazon-layoffs-hundreds-of-jobs-cut-in-cloud-computing-unit.html 
• CNBC, Jordan Novet (2023). Cloud leaders Amazon, Google and Microsoft show the once-booming market is cooling down. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/04/amazon-google-microsoft-show-slowing-growth-in-cloud-infrastructure.html
• CNBC, Kevin Williams (2024). The American dollar store has fallen on hard times. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/14/the-american-dollar-store-falls-on-hard-times.html 
• CNN, Nathaniel Meyersohn (2023). 49 people have been killed at Dollar General stores since 2014. Workers are protesting for safer conditions. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/31/business/dollar-general-worker-safety/index.html 
• CNN, Nathaniel Meyersohn (2019). Dollar stores are everywhere. That’s a problem for poor Americans. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/19/business/dollar-general-opposition/index.html 
• CNN, Nathaniel Meyersohn (2024). Dollar stores are shutting down across America. They did this to themselves. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/11/business/family-dollar-99-cents-only-closing/index.html 
• CNN Business, Nathaniel Meyersohn (2021). Dollar Tree hikes prices 25%. Most items will cost $1.25. https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/investing/dollar-tree-prices-inflation/index.html 
• CNN Business, Nathaniel Meyersohn (2022). ‘Sick to my stomach’: Dollar Tree fanatics protest new $1.25 prices. https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/14/business/dollar-tree-new-prices/index.html 
• CNN Business, Nathaniel Meyersohn (2022). Surprise: Dollar Tree’s $1.25 price strategy is actually working. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/business/dollar-tree-prices/index.html 
• CompaniesMarketCap (no date). Revenue for Dollar General (DG). https://companiesmarketcap.com/dollar-general/revenue/ 
• Consumer Reports, Brian Vines (2021). The Truth About Those Dollar Stores. https://www.consumerreports.org/dollar-stores/the-truth-about-those-dollar-stores/ 
• Dollar General (2020). 2019 Annual Report and 2020 Proxy Statement. https://investor.dollargeneral.com/download/companies/dollargeneral/Annual%20Reports/AR_2019_Dollar%20General_Web%20PDF.pdf 
• Frugal Family Home, Shelly Olson (no date). Why Shopping the Dollar Store is Keeping You Broke. https://frugalfamilyhome.com/budget/why-shopping-the-dollar-store-is-keeping-you-broke 
• The Guardian, Lauren Aratani (2024). 99 Cents Only discount chain to close all US stores. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/05/99-cents-only-stores-closing 
• The Guardian, Michael Sainato (2023). ‘Codes being broken every day’: Dollar General safety violations alarm workers. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/31/dollar-general-safety-violations-osha-workers 
• The Guardian, Joe Eskenazi (2018). Dollar stores are thriving – but are they ripping off poor people? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/28/dollar-store-ripping-people-off-poverty-inequality 
• Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Kennedy Smith (2023). 17 Problems: How Dollar Store Chains Hurt Communities. https://ilsr.org/articles/17-problems/ 
• Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Stacy Mitchell, Kennedy Smith & Susan Holmberg (2023). The Dollar Store Invasion. https://cdn.ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ILSR-Report-The-Dollar-Store-Invasion-2023.pdf?_ga=2.255465807.63155917.1677702706-2129151976.1677702706 
• Investopedia, Mark P. Cussen (2022). The Top 5 Ways to Hedge Against Inflation. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/060916/top-5-ways-hedge-against-inflation.asp 
• Investopedia, Will Kenton (2024). Economies of Scale: What Are They and How Are They Used? https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economiesofscale.asp 
• Microsoft Start, Bethan Moorcraft (2024). ‘A difficult decision’: Walmart to shutter all US health care services and hunker down on inflation-fueled growth in grocery business — what this means for consumers. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/a-difficult-decision-walmart-to-shutter-all-us-health-care-services-and-hunker-down-on-inflation-fueled-growth-in-grocery-business-what-this-means-for-consumers/ar-AA1nYQCu 
• NBC News, Leticia Miranda (2020). Dollar General is thriving. But workers say they pay the price. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/dollar-general-thriving-workers-say-they-pay-price-n1137096 
• The New York Times, Lynn Stout (2015). Corporations Don’t Have to Maximize Profits. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/corporations-dont-have-to-maximize-profits 
• The New York Times Magazine, David Marchese (2022). This Pioneering Economist Says Our Obsession With Growth Must End. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/18/magazine/herman-daly-interview.html 
• NPR, Frank Morris (2017). How Dollar General Is Transforming Rural America. https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569815331/loving-and-hating-dollar-general-in-rural-america 
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2022). Discounting safety: Dollar Tree’s history of ignoring workplace safety, hazards continues with $1.2M in penalties at two Family Dollar stores in Ohio. https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region5/08012022 
• The Progressive Magazine, Michael Sainato (2019). How Dollar Stores Prey on the Poor. https://progressive.org/magazine/dollar-stores-prey-on-the-poor-sainato-191001/ 
• Pro Publica, Alec MacGillis (2020). How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-dollar-stores-became-magnets-for-crime-and-killing 
• Time, Alana Semuels (2023). The Problem With Shopping at Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. https://time.com/6273646/dollar-stores-osha-labor/ 
• USA Today, Bailey Schulz (2024). Are all 99 cent stores closing? A look at the Family Dollar, 99 Cents Only Stores closures. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/04/06/why-are-99-cent-stores-closing/73220304007/ 
• USA Today, James Powel & Anthony Robledo (2024). Dollar Tree to increase max price in stores to $7, reports higher income shoppers. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2024/03/25/dollar-tree-7-dollars-price-increase/73099172007/ 
• The Wall Street Journal, Sarah Nassauer (2017). How Dollar General Became Rural America’s Store of Choice. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-dollar-general-became-rural-americas-store-of-choice-1512401992 
• The Washington Post, Abha Bhattarai (2021). Booming business at dollar stores shows the widening gulf between haves and have-nots during pandemic. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/20/growing-number-americans-are-relying-dollar-stores/ 
• YouTube, Cheddar (2020). How Dollar Stores Conquered America - Cheddar Explains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0t8q3oNE68 
• YouTube, CNBC (2021). The Explosive Rise Of Dollar Stores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQmJpNGclpc 
• YouTube, LastWeekTonight (2023). Dollar Stores: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4QGOHahiVM 
• YouTube, Modern MBA (2022). How Dollar Tree Conquered Low Income America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlAi8R_V3Ac 
• YouTube, More Perfect Union (2024). What Dollar General Doesn’t Want You To Know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5THiD-kTk 
• Zacks (2024). Walmart (WMT) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2260618/walmart-wmt-stock-sinks-as-market-gains-what-you-should-know