The Briefing Room
General Category => Economy/Business => Topic started by: bigheadfred on March 06, 2019, 05:46:10 pm
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Family Dollar will close nearly 400 stores - WKOW
https://wkow.com/news/2019/03/06/family-dollar-will-close-nearly-400-stores/
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Dollar Tree is closing up to 390 Family Dollar stores this year and rebranding about 200 others under the Dollar Tree name
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Family Dollar will close nearly 400 stores - WKOW
https://wkow.com/news/2019/03/06/family-dollar-will-close-nearly-400-stores/
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Dollar Tree is closing up to 390 Family Dollar stores this year and rebranding about 200 others under the Dollar Tree name
It's amazing to me. The economy is booming and growing.... yet stores are closing as if we were back in the Obamanation Era, where the economy was deliberately smothered. I don't get it. :shrug:
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It's amazing to me. The economy is booming and growing.... yet stores are closing as if we were back in the Obamanation Era, where the economy was deliberately smothered. I don't get it. :shrug:
Is it REALLY?
The best indicator I have found is the one they deliberately leave out of the equation:
Is the grocery bill rising or falling? Around here, it's going up.
If the market was truly healthy, you'd see those costs going down, as volume from businesses kicking into gear started making things more available, because folks have more money and are buying more goods. That very probably shows up first in food.
That ain't happening.
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Is it REALLY?
The best indicator I have found is the one they deliberately leave out of the equation:
Is the grocery bill rising or falling? Around here, it's going up.
If the market was truly healthy, you'd see those costs going down, as volume from businesses kicking into gear started making things more available, because folks have more money and are buying more goods. That very probably shows up first in food.
That ain't happening.
Well, if the feds would stop effing around with interest rates (gotta put a stop to any Trump economic success, dontcha know).... maybe food costs wouldn't be going up AT ALL. As it is, my grocery bill still isn't going up as much as I think it would have under Democrats. Dunno.
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Perhaps another way to look at it....
Overall, Family Dollar stores are located in half-empty strip mall plazas or otherwise 'distressed' areas where former anchors have left.
Pay attention to who's buying it and what's going there.
Family Dollar is no different than these Self Storage things popping up. They're real estate investors. Not hairspray and shampoo vendors.
So, when the economy is on the upswing...you sell. Or lease. :shrug:
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Family Dollar was considered "low class" when I was growing up. They were always in bad neighborhoods. The standard joke was "Your family so poor, ya'll got stuff on layaway at the Family Dollar".
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We shop at the one here some. Cigarettes, OTC medicines, etc. It is the only store open on Sunday beyond the gas stations. Most of the shopping we do on Saturday. There is only one grocery store here and it is expensive. They have sales now and then, but still we don't spend that much there.
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Well, if the feds would stop effing around with interest rates (gotta put a stop to any Trump economic success, dontcha know).... maybe food costs wouldn't be going up AT ALL. As it is, my grocery bill still isn't going up as much as I think it would have under Democrats. Dunno.
I'd say it ain't let up at all... And I think the reason for it is because they keep printing more dollars like crazy. That makes the market LOOK hot - because the value of the dollar went down, the market is trading more dollars to get the same thing... But it shows up at the grocery store as real inflation.
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I'd say it ain't let up at all... And I think the reason for it is because they keep printing more dollars like crazy. That makes the market LOOK hot - because the value of the dollar went down, the market is trading more dollars to get the same thing... But it shows up at the grocery store as real inflation.
And I suppose another reason is the ssdd 'spending like drunken sailors' routine. Am wondering how they think that even plenty of jobs, lower corporate taxes and relaxation of regs on business is going to offset their penchant for spending taxpayer dollars like there's no tomorrow. What happens when tomorrow comes (and it always does, eventually...See: Greece, Venezuela, etc.). Who or what country is going to 'bail out' the USA when we go broke and collapse? (nobody)
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It's amazing to me. The economy is booming and growing.... yet stores are closing as if we were back in the Obamanation Era, where the economy was deliberately smothered. I don't get it. :shrug:
Keep in mind the economy is not booming, it's growing a little UNDER average.
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Dollar Tree is closing these 390 Family Dollar stores (which they bought), rebranding about 200 FD stores which is interesting...so, are we to see, that maybe Dollar Tree itself is not suffering in this economic climate as some seem to be implying?
I'm getting mixed signals on the story, Dollar Tree itself does not seem to be hurting. There is one here in a neighborhood and it must be like "the neighborhood store", people go for convenience, you don't have to weigh into more heavily travelled areas. It be candles, cleaning supplies, some canned food, a few frozen food products, candy which most people like once in a while and on down the line, they have a lot. The one in a neighborhood is a gold mine I think to myself. People are always in there almost until late in the day. There are not many other stores around and nothing that has that diverse selection.
But I disapprove of their opening up say on Thanksgiving or something. I know one of their stores was doing that, I thought, give the employees a break.
(https://www.myjobapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Family-Dollar-Logo.png)
Family Dollar vs. the parent company, Dollar Tree:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p4-dRR3y4vw/VqgObBXaVHI/AAAAAAAATrU/ecyssdP_fOw/s1600/Dollar%2BStore%2BMust%2BBuys-2764.jpg)
One can read fairly often about these places being robbed ever so often.
And then, two other dollar stores I know of have reasonable traffic but that one really rakes in the business, because of it's sales in my estimation, I'm sure they get more business than the other two near me combined and easily at that.
Cheap holiday stuff, Hallmark even got a deal and they now sell Hallmark cards at dollar tee. I mean, who wants to pay $4.50 generally speaking for a birthday card?
It's amazing to me. The economy is booming and growing.... yet stores are closing as if we were back in the Obamanation Era, where the economy was deliberately smothered. I don't get it. :shrug:
Everyone should double check the story, Dollar Tree themselves are not closing stores, just the company Family Dollar that they own.
I don't know if it changes the economic analysis. Maybe slightly.
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Keep in mind the economy is not booming, it's growing a little UNDER average.
Well.... compared to what it was under Obama and the rats....
it's 'booming'.
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Dollar Tree is closing these 390 Family Dollar stores (which they bought), rebranding about 200 FD stores which is interesting...so, are we to see, that maybe Dollar Tree itself is not suffering in this economic climate as some seem to be implying?
I'm getting mixed signals on the story, Dollar Tree itself does not seem to be hurting. There is one here in a neighborhood and it must be like "the neighborhood store", people go for convenience, you don't have to weigh into more heavily travelled areas. It be candles, cleaning supplies, some canned food, a few frozen food products, candy which most people like once in a while and on down the line, they have a lot. The one in a neighborhood is a gold mine I think to myself. People are always in there almost until late in the day. There are not many other stores around and nothing that has that diverse selection.
But I disapprove of their opening up say on Thanksgiving or something. I know one of their stores was doing that, I thought, give the employees a break.
(https://www.myjobapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Family-Dollar-Logo.png)
Family Dollar vs. the parent company, Dollar Tree:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p4-dRR3y4vw/VqgObBXaVHI/AAAAAAAATrU/ecyssdP_fOw/s1600/Dollar%2BStore%2BMust%2BBuys-2764.jpg)
One can read fairly often about these places being robbed ever so often.
And then, two other dollar stores I know of have reasonable traffic but that one really rakes in the business, because of it's sales in my estimation, I'm sure they get more business than the other two near me combined and easily at that.
Cheap holiday stuff, Hallmark even got a deal and they now sell Hallmark cards at dollar tee. I mean, who wants to pay $4.50 generally speaking for a birthday card?
Everyone should double check the story, Dollar Tree themselves are not closing stores, just the company Family Dollar that they own.
I don't know if it changes the economic analysis. Maybe slightly.
Thanks for the clarification. happy77
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Well, if the feds would stop effing around with interest rates (gotta put a stop to any Trump economic success, dontcha know).... maybe food costs wouldn't be going up AT ALL. As it is, my grocery bill still isn't going up as much as I think it would have under Democrats. Dunno.
The Fed has been effing around with interest rates for over a decade (and following a pattern that was announced well before the election). The recent rises are a reversal from a policy that will eventually be seen as clearly reckless and irresponsible.
As far as food prices, I haven't seen increases in at least ten years. Every week, I buy chicken breast, liver, sweet potatoes, broccoli and parsley to make dog food. They cost exactly the same as they did ten years ago. Beef jumped up about ten years ago, but seems to be stable (I rarely eat beef). Milk and eggs recently went way down. My overall grocery bill is trending down, not up.
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Well.... compared to what it was under Obama and the rats....
it's 'booming'.
Be sort of silly to compare to a single short abnormal period when there's plenty of long term empirical evidence.
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This actually is a bit expected. Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar about 5 years ago and in many cases, were operating competing businesses within a block of each other. It is partially economic, but mostly it is about efficiencies and eliminating redundancies.
If you look at the Dollar Tree side of the business, they are expanding and building out.
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As far as food prices, I haven't seen increases in at least ten years. Every week, I buy chicken breast, liver, sweet potatoes, broccoli and parsley to make dog food. They cost exactly the same as they did ten years ago. Beef jumped up about ten years ago, but seems to be stable (I rarely eat beef). Milk and eggs recently went way down. My overall grocery bill is trending down, not up.
I am way up... maybe 20% in the last two years.
But then I only buy staples from the store. Hardly ever meat or eggs, milk, or butter... just fresh produce, dry goods, coffee and the like... And some canned goods for that which is lacking in the pantry. Most of that comes from the garden.
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The Fed has been effing around with interest rates for over a decade (and following a pattern that was announced well before the election). The recent rises are a reversal from a policy that will eventually be seen as clearly reckless and irresponsible.
As far as food prices, I haven't seen increases in at least ten years. Every week, I buy chicken breast, liver, sweet potatoes, broccoli and parsley to make dog food. They cost exactly the same as they did ten years ago. Beef jumped up about ten years ago, but seems to be stable (I rarely eat beef). Milk and eggs recently went way down. My overall grocery bill is trending down, not up.
The grocery store we use displays the price per ounce on the shelf tag with the item price. The other day they had a "family sized" bag of plain tortilla chips for $12.7 per ounce. Down the aisle, they had the same exact item in a 13oz. bag for $07.2 per ounce.
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The Fed has been effing around with interest rates for over a decade (and following a pattern that was announced well before the election). The recent rises are a reversal from a policy that will eventually be seen as clearly reckless and irresponsible.
As far as food prices, I haven't seen increases in at least ten years. Every week, I buy chicken breast, liver, sweet potatoes, broccoli and parsley to make dog food. They cost exactly the same as they did ten years ago. Beef jumped up about ten years ago, but seems to be stable (I rarely eat beef). Milk and eggs recently went way down. My overall grocery bill is trending down, not up.
What stores do you shop at for groceries? I need to start buying there too. My grocery bills have risen. Perhaps because I'm in a large city...?
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Be sort of silly to compare to a single short abnormal period when there's plenty of long term empirical evidence.
I don't think it's silly at all... to compare things economically re: how they were under Obama vs. how they are now.
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Dollar Tree has some stuff from China too, if I can, I'd probably try to avoid those. That's more for things like drinking glasses but some food items too. Frozen fruit from Vietnam, not horrible at that.
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What stores do you shop at for groceries? I need to start buying there too. My grocery bills have risen. Perhaps because I'm in a large city...?
Most of the time it's the Walmart Neighborhood Market, but I recently found a place that generally caters to restaurants where I can get some things at less than half price if I buy 40-50# at a time.
Food is cheap. Most of my money ends up going to insurance, to the point where I'm not sure if I'll keep it or not.
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What stores do you shop at for groceries? I need to start buying there too. My grocery bills have risen. Perhaps because I'm in a large city...?
The store we shop at is called Winco. They don't advertise. They don't accept credit cards. They do accept debit cards, cash, and food stamp cards. They are open 24/7. Stay away on food stamp day.
No advertising and no credit cards cut down their costs which are reflected in their prices.
Take-out
No
Accepts Credit Cards
No
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Accepts Google Pay
No
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
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I don't think it's silly at all... to compare things economically re: how they were under Obama vs. how they are now.
Why not Bush, or Clinton, or Reagan, or Coolidge? Why pick a POTUS at all, since they have so little effect on the economy?
0 wasn't good at anything, but it's also a huge coincidence that he came in at a historic time. Things wouldn't have been much different if McCain had won.
And why pick such a short period of time? The health of the economy is the health of the economy, it's not relative to a short and rather unique period of recent history. Looking at it that way, a few years from now what we have today will be seen as stagnation.
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Most of the time it's the Walmart Neighborhood Market, but I recently found a place that generally caters to restaurants where I can get some things at less than half price if I buy 40-50# at a time.
Food is cheap. Most of my money ends up going to insurance, to the point where I'm not sure if I'll keep it or not.
I mostly shop at Walmart, sometimes Kroger. And the prices at Walmart here have gone up every year... even the checkers acknowledge the price increases. My car and house insurance goes up too. Hell, every cost has gone up.
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Why not Bush, or Clinton, or Reagan, or Coolidge? Why pick a POTUS at all, since they have so little effect on the economy?
0 wasn't good at anything, but it's also a huge coincidence that he came in at a historic time. Things wouldn't have been much different if McCain had won.
And why pick such a short period of time? The health of the economy is the health of the economy, it's not relative to a short and rather unique period of recent history. Looking at it that way, a few years from now what we have today will be seen as stagnation.
I disagree. Obama (still) represents the anti-American faction of Marxists that seek to marginalize (if not destroy) our Western way of life. His policies deliberately kept the economy smothered via regulations and taxes... like THE biggest tax on the middle class ever.... called "ObamaCare".
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The store we shop at is called Winco. They don't advertise. They don't accept credit cards. They do accept debit cards, cash, and food stamp cards. They are open 24/7. Stay away on food stamp day.
No advertising and no credit cards cut down their costs which are reflected in their prices.
Take-out
No
Accepts Credit Cards
No
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Accepts Google Pay
No
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Ehh.... I've been in a Winco one time and wasn't impressed with the costs or the products. But this is Dallas, so.... could just be location.
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For Valentine's day, a little less than a month ago, they had, yes, for a dollar, a humble box of chocolate candies, I think the candy was made in Missouri but ... surprisingly, it was very good. Just one layer of chocolates, not two layers and a bit of repitition in the selection but I've got to say, it was of rather good quality. A lot of times, they sell American made as well. Some good deals.
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Ehh.... I've been in a Winco one time and wasn't impressed with the costs or the products. But this is Dallas, so.... could just be location.
Their beef isn't that great. We don't eat much beef. Well, we do eat ground beef. I get that at Sam's Club by the 80lb. case. Last week that price for 80/20 was $2.25/lb. and the 90/10 was $2.55. The 90/10 is like eating cardboard. Most canned goods are packaged by several companies and then branded with a store label. Like appliances.
"The Kenmore, Maytag, and Whirlpool that are the subject of this article were all designed by Whirlpool Corporation and built in the same factory–in Clyde, Ohio to be specific."
I check the circulars before we go shopping. We tend to buy by the case. I HATE Walmart.
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We tend to buy by the case.
Where i need canned goods, YEP. Smith's (Kroger) is best up here for that. I buy a bit at Albertson's (Jewel/Safeway) because it is close by... and I prefer Rosaurs (regional chain out of Spokane).
I HATE Walmart.
YEP. I go once a month and buy dog food and dog stuff, paper goods, cleaning supplies, and pay for my cell phone.
But Costco gets me... That's where my burger comes from (when I need it). And cheese.
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We don't have a Costco. Sam's has a good price on cheese. The last time I was in Sam's was just for cheese. A 5 lb. bag of shredded mozzarella was $9.98. The 4 cheese shredded blend was $10.98. Their 5 lb. bricks are about the same.
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I mostly shop at Walmart, sometimes Kroger. And the prices at Walmart here have gone up every year... even the checkers acknowledge the price increases. My car and house insurance goes up too. Hell, every cost has gone up.
If you can find a checker. 9999hair out0000
Our preferred stores are Kroger, then Walmart.
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What stores do you shop at for groceries? I need to start buying there too. My grocery bills have risen. Perhaps because I'm in a large city...?
@XenaLee Aldi's and Sharp Shopper. No frills and bring your own bag. Same items as Kroger, Food Lion, and Walmart. 2/3 to 3/4 the price. No fancy packaging and sometimes the selection is limited, but the exact same quality.
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@XenaLee Aldi's and Sharp Shopper. No frills and bring your own bag. Same items as Kroger, Food Lion, and Walmart. 2/3 to 3/4 the price. No fancy packaging and sometimes the selection is limited, but the exact same quality.
That's not exactly true or accurate... at least not here in Dallas. I like Aldi, but no way do they have the same selection of products as Kroger or Walmart. Don't know about Food Lion. Aldi has a better selection of imported products.... stuff you don't usually find elsewhere. But when it comes to other basic stuff....things that I buy regularly, like household items, the selection is much more limited. I do like their prices, but I couldn't 'just shop' at Aldi. As it is, Walmart is so poor at restocking (and inventory, apparently), that I usually have to go to Kroger or Tom Thumb to 'complete' my list.... since they are always out of one or two items I need.
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That's not exactly true or accurate... at least not here in Dallas. I like Aldi, but no way do they have the same selection of products as Kroger or Walmart. Don't know about Food Lion. Aldi has a better selection of imported products.... stuff you don't usually find elsewhere. But when it comes to other basic stuff....things that I buy regularly, like household items, the selection is much more limited. I do like their prices, but I couldn't 'just shop' at Aldi. As it is, Walmart is so poor at restocking (and inventory, apparently), that I usually have to go to Kroger or Tom Thumb to 'complete' my list.... since they are always out of one or two items I need.
Every Wal-Mart I have been in is poorly stocked.
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Every Wal-Mart I have been in is poorly stocked.
15 cash registers, two cashiers.
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15 cash registers, two cashiers.
YEP. It has gotten a little better with self checkout. But we still shop there as little as possible.