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Are Dollar General Stores a sign that your small town has died?

Horn Under a Bad Sign

By Horn Under a Bad Sign
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Horn Under a Bad Sign

Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,402

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Fascinating article about Dollar Generals, food deserts and what the opening of a Dollar General store signifies:

 

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The chain now has more outlets across the country than McDonald’s has restaurants, and its profits have surged past some of the grand old names of American retail. The company estimates that three-quarters of the population lives within five miles of one of its stores, which stock everything from groceries and household cleaners to clothes and tools.

Not everything is to be had for a dollar, but rarely is anything priced above $10. But there is a cost. Dollar General’s aggressive pricing drives locally owned grocery stores out of business, replacing shelves stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables and meat with the kinds of processed foods underpinning the country’s obesity and diabetes crisis.

Dollar Generals are frequently found at the heart of “food deserts”, defined by the department of agriculture as a rural community where one-third of residents live more than 10 miles from a grocery store selling fresh produce.

That was not what bothered Friesen. He saw construction of a Dollar General more as a statement about the health of his town as a whole than any one of its 1,400 residents.

If Dollar General were to be believed, there was a sound economic benefit for Buhler from one of its stores. This time the company didn’t ask the council for money. Instead it sold the promise of prosperity, claiming it would boost the town’s coffers with increased sales tax revenues by encouraging residents to shop locally instead of traveling to distant supermarkets for what they cannot find at the grocery store.

Buhler’s council called two public meetings in March to gauge the mood of residents and invited Doug Nech, owner of neighbouring Haven’s only grocery store, the Foodliner, to speak. Dollar General had driven his shop out of business days earlier.

“We lasted three years and three days after Dollar General opened,” he said. “Sales dropped and just kept dropping. We averaged 225 customers a day before and immediately dropped to about 175. A year ago we were down to 125 a day. Basically we lost 35 to 40% of our sales. I lost a thousand dollars a day in sales in three years.”

The arrival of Dollar General cost the Foodliner hundreds of thousands of dollars over that time. The foremost challenge was price. The chain has the power of scale in negotiating with foodmakers. Nech discovered the store had done a deal with Campbell’s Soup to make a 14.5oz can of chicken noodle soup for $1.50, the price he was paying wholesale for an 11oz can of the same soup.

“Dollar General have buying power. There’s not a lot of competition at the wholesale level so it’s rather difficult and the smaller you are, you pay a higher price for goods whether it’s in delivery costs or volume buying or any number of things,” he said.

Nech calls Dollar General “a cancer” but reserves his anger for Haven’s council for subsidising a hugely profitable corporation to compete against him. He asked the council to cut his shop’s utility bill to $100 a month until the Foodliner received a matching benefit. It refused, saying that Dollar General had taken advantage of a programme to bring in new business while Nech’s was long established.

“It’s the principle that they gave them money to come to town. I’m kind of conservative. I don’t believe in asking government for anything and I damn sure don’t believe in asking the government for anything now,” he said.

Friesen said Nech’s account “scared a lot of people” in Buhler who feared they could lose their own grocery store. The council also took on board what happened in a town an hour north-east of Buhler when a small Walmart moved in, put two grocery stores out of business and then shut down, leaving the town with nothing. “Dollar General, Walmart, any large corporation, doesn’t have the best interests of our community at heart here at all,” said the mayor.




https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/13/dollar-general-walmart-buhler-haven-kansas

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Cheeseweasel

Cheeseweasel 26,438

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24 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

That was not what bothered Friesen. He saw construction of a Dollar General more as a statement about the health of his town as a whole than any one of its 1,400 residents.

Dude. You live in a town with 1,400 people. Be thankful ANY business is investing in your town.

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Horn Under a Bad Sign

Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,402

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18 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

On the one hand, yes, my small town has a Dollar General.

On the other hand, there is a bad ass HEB a few miles down the road in another small town. 

I'm kind of surprised the Dollar General is still open.

 

 

You apparently don't live in rural Kansas.  According to the Center of Disease control, 25% of the U.S. population doesn't have access to healthy food, and this population is also the population that DOES have access to Dollar General.  I mean, Kansas is in the heart of U.S. farmland. If these people don't have access to healthy food, that's kind of disturbing. 

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Dollar General has a fantastic business model.

My hometown of about 2800 folks does indeed have a DG.  They offer outstanding pricing due to their high volume purchasing power, that otherwise would not be offered in such "micromarkets."  I was sad to see our longtime local family owned store close in the 00's, but DG coming in more than took up the slack.

The local grocer, a West Texas chain- Lowes, still maintains their store too.

I would never want to work in a DG, especially as a manager.  Those folks  flat out work their asses off for not much relative cash.

 

Edited by slorch
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Brothahorn

Brothahorn 10,087

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Dude. You live in a town with 1,400 people. Be thankful ANY business is investing in your town.
This. There is a Family Dollar in my hometown, pop. 500.

The next closest thing to a grocery store is 13 miles away. If you live outside of town, you can be 20+ miles away.
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Brothahorn

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You apparently don't live in rural Kansas.  According to the Center of Disease control, 25% of the U.S. population doesn't have access to healthy food, and this population is also the population that DOES have access to Dollar General.  I mean, Kansas is in the heart of U.S. farmland. If these people don't have access to healthy food, that's kind of disturbing. 


How does one live in the heart of America and not have access to fresh food? We're not talking some urban jungle. So the issue is not DG or Walmart. I guarantee you, somewhere, somehow there is government stupidity playing a big part.
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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26,450

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I'd say that when Dollar General closes, it's a sign your small town has died.

The places I see new Dollar Generals tend to be small country towns and slum areas in bigger cities. In most of these places, a new DG is more a sign of revival than decline, in that any local stores were already closed or closing. I'm sure DG put Healthy Local Store on the ropes somewhere, but it's not the trend I see.

 

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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26,450

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47 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Plenty of people prefer processed food over fresh food.   Even when fresh food is less expensive.      Stop buying red drink and go with the basically free tap water (except you Flint, MI.)

 

JERRY: Why would anyone eat canned fruit? I mean can anybody answer that?
GEORGE: What about all the loser stuff?
ELAINE: I don’t know where the rabbi got that. Ya know I never said that. I said “I’ve ever seen you looser”.
JERRY: I can see the can if you’re in the army, but fresh fruit it’s available, it’s there, it’s 2 aisles over.

http://dailyseinfeld.com/post/489368413

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23,113

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26 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:


 

 


How does one live in the heart of America and not have access to fresh food? We're not talking some urban jungle. So the issue is not DG or Walmart. I guarantee you, somewhere, somehow there is government stupidity playing a big part.

 

i think it's a want and desire issue.  if a person want fresh fruits and vegetables, I'm sure he can find it.  some people are too lazy for their own good.  and that's how everyone go so fat.

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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26,450

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Seems like enterprising Surlsters could open Fresh Food Farmers Markets across the street from food-desert Dollar Generals. Don't grow the vegetables, Lord no, that's work-- just convince others to do so and rent seller space under your sheds.

The poor people have already cadged rides with their step-sister's ex-boyfriend Jimmy to get to DG. Tempt them over to your Fresh Food Farmers Market with a brightly colored sign and a bouncy house for the young.

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27 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

It's more of a sign that your town has no jobs and residents are broke as shit. 

Not true.

 

Some of y'all have no fucking clue how remote some of these areas are...and there plops a DG or FD and they will run solid volume.  They serve a need within that community. You don't have to be poor to appreciate good value. You don't have to be rich to utilize their convenience.  These people aren't expecting Whole Foods or Trader Joes or even an Aldi in their town.

 

As for the jobs side of it, you might be right in some cases.  As for my hometown above, most folks work in Lubbock, so it's more a matter of picking a better commute if someone chooses to work at a Dollar store.

 

Edited by slorch
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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26,450

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42 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

How does one live in the heart of America and not have access to fresh food?

 

You ever try to plant some tomato vines? Like, you need to plant them, and pour water on them, and watch them grow up along a stick or something, and then you have to pick all these tomatoes off the vine, and eat them.

It's complicated. It's stressful.

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NotActuallyALonghorn

NotActuallyALonghorn 4,976

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34 minutes ago, slorch said:

Not true.

 

Some of y'all have no fucking clue how remote some of these areas are...and there plops a DG or FD and they will run solid volume.  They serve a need within that community. You don't have to be poor to appreciate good value. You don't have to be rich to utilize their convenience.  These people aren't expecting Whole Foods or Trader Joes or even an Aldi in their town.

 

As for the jobs side of it, you might be right in some cases.  As for my hometown above, most folks work in Lubbock, so it's more a matter of picking a better commute if someone chooses to work at a Dollar store.

 

Yep. For many it's the difference in a five minute trip to pick up something small and needed versus having to drive half an hour into town. 

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bluto

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39 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Seems like enterprising Surlsters could open Fresh Food Farmers Markets across the street from food-desert Dollar Generals. Don't grow the vegetables, Lord no, that's work-- just convince others to do so and rent seller space under your sheds.

The poor people have already cadged rides with their step-sister's ex-boyfriend Jimmy to get to DG. Tempt them over to your Fresh Food Farmers Market with a brightly colored sign and a bouncy house for the young.

Lulz @ thinking gen pop prefers fresh healthy stuff over takis and Mountain Dew

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clapclapclap

clapclapclap 9,000

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50 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

It's more of a sign that your town has no jobs and residents are broke as shit. 

LOL, there's more than a dozen Dollar General stores in Austin.  Hopefully Amazon HQ2 will come in and end your jobs drought.

Most people use Dollar General as a closer and faster substitute for Walmart, not a grocery store.

Edited by clapclapclap
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Js1

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46 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Seems like enterprising Surlsters could open Fresh Food Farmers Markets across the street from food-desert Dollar Generals. Don't grow the vegetables, Lord no, that's work-- just convince others to do so and rent seller space under your sheds.

The poor people have already cadged rides with their step-sister's ex-boyfriend Jimmy to get to DG. Tempt them over to your Fresh Food Farmers Market with a brightly colored sign and a bouncy house for the young.

You want me to walk ACROSS the street? WITH MY LEGS? What kind of sucker do you think I am?

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2 hours ago, David Dennison said:

On the one hand, yes, my small town has a Dollar General.

On the other hand, there is a bad ass HEB a few miles down the road in another small town. 

I'm kind of surprised the Dollar General is still open.

So you’re socialist because you’re poor. 

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Horn Under a Bad Sign

Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,402

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46 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

LOL, there's more than a dozen Dollar General stores in Austin.  Hopefully Amazon HQ2 will come in and end your jobs drought.

Most people use Dollar General as a closer and faster substitute for Walmart, not a grocery store.

 

Austin, by definition, is not a "small town" and is therefore not the subject of this thread. 

I've seen the dynamic described in the article play out in small towns around the country. 

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Not a good part of town.  Not even close:

 

Dollar Tree
 
 

 

 
 
$Dollar Store
Chain offering an eclectic mix of household items, beauty products, food & more at discount prices.
 
Located in: Northline Commons
Address: 4428 North Fwy, Houston, TX 77022
Hours: 
Open ⋅ Closes 9PM
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
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Shoxthemonkey

Shoxthemonkey 1,981

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Hard to believe that people are worried about folks in Buhler, KS having access to fresh food. Buhler is less than 10 miles from Hutchinson, a town of @ 40,000. Might as well be a suburb. I'd be willing to bet that the Hutch Walmart was already getting a large chunk of the Buhler grocery action. Typical Mennonite bullshit, acting all put upon. Just make sure nobody sees all of the plastic sacks in the garage and your secret shopping won't be found out.

There are real food deserts in Kansas. Buhler aint one of them.

Edited by Shoxthemonkey
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Stunns38

Stunns38 3,536

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Tell you whut Dollar general stock has been a great investment for me


My dad used to work for a manufacturer and always told me that Dollar general will take over Walmart someday in terms of numbers of stores and profit.This was in the early 2000s . Should have bought stock.

On the other hand, he let me know that working with Walmart was like working with the mob. His company got bullied by them and eventually had to move to Mexico./no cloak
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Lhorn

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1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

the definition of "access" in these studies regarding "fresh food" is pretty much horseshit.

That people in certain communities don't have access to fresh food is disingenuous.  What they are implying is that the HEB, Albertsens, Piggly Wiggly, A&P, in those areas chose not to carry fresh food therefore those people are victims or are deprived.  The more accurate statement is that the people who chose to live in those rural communities don't have convenient access to many things like dentists, drug stores, hardware stores, cell phone stores, etc because they choose to live in an area where the size of the population isn't sufficient to support that type of business.  My grandparents lived in such a community.  Other than a gas station, every thing was 30-40 minutes away.  You would accurately say, they didn't have convenient access to fresh food, but the reality is that they ate mostly fresh food because they took a drive into town once a week for the grocery store.  They were not victims.

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Nice Guy Eddie

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2 hours ago, crash_davis said:

i think it's a want and desire issue.  if a person want fresh fruits and vegetables, I'm sure he can find it.  some people are too lazy for their own good.  and that's how everyone go so fat.

Yes.  While I'm sure some true food deserts exists, I think it's usually a lack of demand.   Stores are only going to throw out fresh food so often before they stop ordering it.  Must suck to be one of the few people in town that want fresh fruits and vegetables, but maybe that person should take it as a sign they should find a new town to live in.

I get that mom and pop stores owners complain about how they can't compete against DG or WalMart, but too bad.  Those stores are bringing in products and low prices that couldn't be maintained by the mom and pop stores.  It's an overall win for that community.   There is a worry that WalMart is only lowering prices to drive competitors out of business and then they will eventually jack up prices, I find that hard to believe.   It gives the mom and pop stores too much credit.

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Horn Under a Bad Sign

Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,402

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It is hard to get fresh produce in Presidio and sometimes even in Fort Stockton. I have repeatedly been appalled at the condition of some of the fruit and veggies  at the Lowe's in Fort Stockton.  I mean, it's on an interstate.  It should not be that hard to get fresh produce there. I can understand Presidio because it's at the end of the earth. 

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NotActuallyALonghorn

NotActuallyALonghorn 4,976

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Dollar general is unfortunately the only local option for a lot of little podunk Arkansas towns without having to spend most of a day driving to get groceries and stuff. We always stop in Texarkana to get groceries when headed into Arkansas to go camping. It's pretty sad, but that's not really the situation we see in most Texas towns.

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Lhorn

Lhorn 4,914

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21 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

I've never been in one of these joints...nearest one is 38 miles away, per their website.  

Sounds kinda shitty. 

Meh.  My 10 year old loves going there because you can get something for a dollar which I guess to her is cool.  I have one near me in a rather pricy area in the East Bay.  There are a ton of "soccer mom" types that go there for shit like greeting cards and craft stuff like fake flowers.  So it's not just the poors at least at my store.

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Royalfan5

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In Nebraska pretty much every town above 900 folks has a Dollar General now. Most of those places already lost a Grocery Store because they were close to a bigger town or are remote enough that the grocery store is a little more insulated from it because other services like being a locker plant or delivery to elderly or other side deal.

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YoungCounty

YoungCounty 165

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There is one here in Graham. I have only been inside three times in two years, but I am pretty sure there is no produce in the store. It is literally right across the street from the Super Wal Mart, so I have no clue how it even stays open.  

I will admit my daughter needed some sort of pens or something for some art project at school.  I was damn happy she wanted to go to Dollar General, because I hate Wal Mart and knew the art supply stuff is at the very back.  My daughters like to "shop" so a trip to any store can be brutal. We were in and out of the Dollar General in a few minutes.

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