Dollar stores drive away supermarkets

[gfweb]

A thing on NPR today talked about how Dollar stores drive supermarkets out of inner cities and small towns.  Apparently they sell all the higher profit foods eg pasta, canned stuff and avoid the high labor stuff eg meats and veg and dairy. Moreover the big chains get specially made lots of soup etc that they buy cheap and in bulk and undercut the supermarket.

 

So people in these areas get some stuff cheap and other stuff not at all.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I can see this happening.     While we don't have Dollar Stores in town, we do have and are totally spoiled by Grocery Outlet.    We have come to depend on GO for many basics: dairy and eggs, bread, produce, some wine.    What is unnerving is that we have upped our game at GO.    We now essentially only buy organic products which are super expensive at our carriage trade local super.     eg organic beets, bunch of 3 are 2.99 at GO, 5.99 at the super.   But don't cry for our super.    It's doing just fine, thank you, with all those who wouldn't consider going to GO.

[pastrygirl]

Was it this Planet Money podcast?

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/04/26/717665452/episode-909-dollar-stores-vs-lettuce

 

(for those who want to hear/read more)

 

 

Edited July 13, 2019 by pastrygirl (log)

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

Was it this Planet Money podcast?

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/04/26/717665452/episode-909-dollar-stores-vs-lettuce

 

(for those who want to hear/read more)

 

 

 

 

Might've been.  Thanks!

[suzilightning]

Interesting.  When John and I did a trip on the Lincoln Highway a few years ago we went through tiny towns in Iowa, Indiana, Kansas where the population (maybe 75 -200 souls) would not support even a small grocery store.  Dollar Store or Dollar General - too small for a Walmart, CVS or Riteaid - were the only game in town.  Up in the Adirondack Park they have the same problem but have been doing some innovative things to try and alleviate the food desert in the middle of nowhere.

[AlaMoi]

there's a whole lotta' ifs-ands-buts to this topic.

 

a family member had a "farm store" in the middle of (nothing but green in every direction)

he finally had to call it quits and fold the place because the 'big box / discount retailers' were selling the same products for less than his wholesale/dealer price.

 

so - "the middle of nowhere" definition is a bit fluid.

[dtremit]

On 7/13/2019 at 1:25 PM, gfweb said:

A thing on NPR today talked about how Dollar stores drive supermarkets out of inner cities and small towns.  Apparently they sell all the higher profit foods eg pasta, canned stuff and avoid the high labor stuff eg meats and veg and dairy. Moreover the big chains get specially made lots of soup etc that they buy cheap and in bulk and undercut the supermarket.

 

I can't speak to small towns, but grocery chains have been abandoning inner cities for a long time. Detroit was without a single chain grocery from 2007 (when the single remaining store closed) until 2013 (when a Whole Foods opened, which I'm not sure helped all that much). And that's in one of the largest cities in the country by square mileage. I'm pretty sure there was another similar period in the early '90s.

Edited July 18, 2019 by dtremit (log)