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In a down economy, every dollar is a dollar !!
Consumers are scrimping and saving. And when they do spend, they want the
biggest bang for their buck. To stretch their budgets, East Valley consumers are
visiting discount dollar stores in increasing numbers.
Dollar stores now sell everything from grocery items to children's clothes at
prices much lower than other retailers. People from up and down the economic
ladder are finding that shopping at a dollar store is an easy way to keep costs
down.
"Thrift is in," said Joshua Braverman, spokesman for Family Dollar Inc., a
discount store where 90 percent of the products cost less than $10.
But the trend is not restricted to the East Valley. According to a January 2009
survey conducted by WSL Strategic Retail, a New York-based consulting firm, 60
percent of Americans have shopped in a dollar store over the last three months.
Dollar stores' stigma as dingy knickknack shops is gone. WSL's survey also found
that 49 percent of people earning more than $100,000 a year have shopped at
dollar stores over the same period. Some of the store's products are generic,
but now they sell many of the name brand items that are found at any local
grocery.
"We are providing quality to customers without making them sacrifice on the
cost," Braverman said.
At the Family Dollar on 1832 W. Broadway Road, Sylvia Morales of Mesa was
shopping with her 2-year-old grandson, Dominick. She was impressed by the
variety and quality of products on the shelves.
"Before I used to think that a dollar store only sold cheap and tacky things,"
Morales said. "Then you come here and see there are great products."
Another customer, Daniel Fraklin of Mesa, said the store is his first stop when
shopping for soap, toothpaste, or tissue paper. He stops in, he said, a few
times every week.
"I'm here so much, I might as well work here," Fraklin said.
Dollar stores have become colossal enterprises. Family Dollar, for example, has
a presence in 44 states and more than 6,600 stores.
On the stock market, Family Dollar shares are selling for more than $30 - almost
double where it was in January 2008. The uptick is due, in part, to strong
sales. Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended Feb.
28, rose almost 9 percent to about $2 billion.
The strong showing has enabled Family Dollar to open about 200 stores in fiscal
year 2008. The driver of its sales, Braverman said, is food and other consumable
items. The store has further plans to expand its food section because of
customers' growing interest.
"People come in looking for one item and end up leaving with a basketful," said
Judy Verhoeven, store manger of the Family Dollar on Broadway.
99 Cent Only Stores are also expanding due to the rise in thrift. Elsy Guardado,
a company spokeswoman, said that more than 50 percent of the stores' product mix
is now in the food category.
Finding a way to save on food items is key at a time when the U.S. Department of
Agriculture predicts about a 3 to 4 percent increase in grocery prices this
year. This comes on top of last year's approximately 6 percent jump.
99 Cent Only Stores have a produce section and sell other grocery items such as
milk, eggs and butter. Many customers come into the store to supplement what
they purchase at other grocery stores, Guardado said.
The company opened about 20 new stores in fiscal year 2008. Its most recent
store is at 750 N. Gilbert Road in Gilbert. Guardado said the store is doing
well and that customers from all economic classes are coming in to see "what the
buzz is about." With the down economy, they're getting a lot more visitors, she
said. "Customers are looking to save every way they can," she said. "There are
other options than the supermarkets. We give people another choice."
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