Dollar and Closeout Stores No Longer the Punchline
Another sector of retail that’s been looking up is the dollar and closeout stores. And that makes sense, with unemployment out of control and consumers are tightening their belts. I’ve been hearing a lot about the upscaling of Big Lots, which troubles me a bit, and both Dollar General and Dollar Tree recently reported big first-quarter sales increases.
Back to Big Lots. According to Wall Street Journal, they are going to go after more upscale merchandise, and took over a former Linens N’ Things location in Columbus, OH, across from a high-end mall. Big Lots is also looking at former Circuit City sites, and may be the only retailer out there right now with an eye on expansion.
So why am I worried? If they out price their current customer and drive them to Dollar General and Dollar Tree, and the economy wipes out the middle class, who will they really be selling to?
Dollar General has yet to enter the world of e-commerce, but Big Lots and Dollar Tree are there. Big Lots is doing its Deal of the Day online, and Dollar Tree went multichannel with Dollar Tree Direct last November to compete against the Oriental Tradings of the world.
Who knows if it’s the future of shopping, but it’s certainly where the in-crowd is migrating.
